What do journalists need to know about covering urban health issues? That's the topic under the microscope at the Graduate School of Journalism's first urban health workshop that will be held on October 12 and 13.

At the workshop, journalism students will listen to experts such as Dr. Mary Bassett, deputy health commissioner for the New City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, who will deliver the conference's keynote address on the city's efforts to improve public health through bans on smoking, food labeling, and diabetes-tracking.

The program kicks off on Friday evening with a reception at the new headquarters for The New York Times. Saturday's program will begin in the morning with a panel on the challenges of covering diabetes. Topics for the afternoon sessions include how to tackle mental health issues, overcoming cultural barriers in health coverage, and the challenges of telling the stories of the city's aging population. Another panel will help journalists decipher ways to use local data to improve their stories.

Montefiore Medical Center is the lead sponsor for the workshop, which also has support from The Comnmonwealth Fund, The New York Times, Consumer Reports/Consumers Union, the New York Academy of Medicine, Community Health Foundation of Western & Central New York, and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.

For a complete list of speakers and to register go to: healthjournalism.org