Doug Levy

Doug Levy's COVID-19 Daily Top Stories

A former medical reporter's pick of the coronavirus news that matters most

Trump misleads on virus

A Virtual Conversation with Doug Levy, Communications Handbook for Coronavirus

Distracted?

These days, distractions are everywhere. How do you navigate the modern word without feeling completely stressed out? Read on.

You Can Get Your DNA Tested At An NFL Game. Should You?

Depending on whom you ask, finding out whether your genes make you a better athlete or give you healthier skin may be as easy as swabbing your cheeks for a DNA test on your way into a football game. But others say these "wellness" tests marketed directly to consumers are modern snake oil - worthless, or even misleading.

Free DNA Kits at S.F. 49ers Games Attract Skeptics - and Regulators

Depending on whom you ask, finding out whether your genes make you a better athlete or give you healthier skin may be as easy as swabbing your cheeks for a DNA test on your way into a football game. But others say these "wellness" tests marketed directly to consumers are modern snake oil - worthless, or even misleading.

Spatial Reasoning Is Your Brain's Inner GPS

One of a series of videos produced for Scientific American and AARP on brain science. This one was about "spatial reasoning," the brain's "GPS." To strengthen spatial reasoning, next time you get GPS directions, memorize turns and visual landmarks you see instead of just following prompts.

Video: How Selective Attention Helps You Stay Focused

Part of a series of brain science videos produced for Scientific American and AARP. In a world full of distraction, our brain's selective attention allows us to stay singularly focused despite a wealth of external stimuli around us.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170131133730.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170313134937.htm

When Fear Becomes An Unintended Public Health Problem

With the Zika virus in the daily headlines, public health authorities should be looking carefully at how they communicate about this latest emerging infectious disease. People need to be alerted, not alarmed. That balance can be hard to strike when the health sources people turn to range from acquaintances on social media to politicians, instead of physicians and other medical professionals.

Addressing Healthcare Cybersecurity Strategically

White paper about health care data security for HIMSS Media on behalf of Symantec.

Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Is It Too Late to Manage the Risks?

Helping hospitals learn from tragic mistakes

This article about medical errors was one of the first major news stories about the "epidemic" of mistakes in hospitals in the United States. Articles like this helped advance the effor...

Tobacco deal

Levy, Doug. "Tobacco's Top Foe Raps Deal." USA TODAY, Jun 23, 1997.

Medicine by modem

As an "early adopter," Doug frequently wrote about the impact of the Internet and computers on health care. This USA Today Cover Story ran in 1996.

USA Today: Organ Transplants 'lucrative' for some

This front-page USA Today story from June 23, 1993 was one of many articles that Doug Levy wrote about organ transplants, the science of transplant medicine, and how to increase the availability of organs to save lives.

Ghostwriters a hidden resource for drug makers

Exposing the practice by drug companies of writing articles, then getting prominent doctors to claim authorship.

Genome Project Reaches Important Milestones

In 1992, Doug Levy reported on the near-completion of the Human Genome Project, a $3-billion international effort to map the entire genetic blueprint for humans.

The Bay Area's best Bargain Bites

The Bay Area's best Bargain Bites Since last year the dining scene has gone through some interesting changes. Food carts and trucks, lunch counters run by big-name chefs and pop-up restaurants have cropped up everywhere - mostly in an effort to survive dismal economic times.

A Bite Into History: The New York Egg Cream

Inn at the Inn - Food column

Food column advertorial for Lark Creek Inn

St. Helena Primal event - artisan butchering

Watching someone carve up a whole hog or roast a whole goat, pig or rabbit over an open fire might not be everyone's idea of fun, but a festival at a St. Helena vineyard Saturday drew several hundred people who did just that and more as they celebrated heritage animals, artisan butchery and traditional fire cooking.

BAR BITES: Boca Steak and Seafood

On weekdays from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., it's an absolute bargain, as items on the bar menu are offered at half price. Boca's bar is a little like a large country living room, with light wood and plenty of natural light.

Fill up on wine, food, tips at SF Chefs 2010

The second annual event, which tents Union Square for walk-around tasting events and takes over nearby venues for seminars and dinners, is a celebration of what promoter Andrew Freeman calls "the No. 1 form of entertainment in San Francisco" - dining out. [...]

DailyJournal

By Gayle Lynn Falkenthal Today's business and organizational leaders know a grasp of crisis communications planning and response is an essential element in their management portfolio. But among many competing demands for their attention, it often gets put on the back burner.

Berkeley emergency responders assess communications after North Bay fires

City In the midst of the North Bay fires that killed dozens and wiped out thousands of homes, Bay Area emergency responders and community members are considering how best to utilize emergency communication resources in Berkeley. Neither Sonoma nor Napa counties, where the fires began, used an Amber Alert-style emergency communication system to notify residents of the fires.

What's Next for Progressives?

Doug Levy was interviewed for his perspective on how progressive Americans should respond to Donald Trump's election.

Doug Levy mentioned in book about Yahoo

Journalist Nicholas Carlson's book, Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!, includes an account of an interaction between Doug Levy and Jerry Yang, which Carlson says happened in 2000. Here is an excerpt: "By late 2000, tensions were boiling over inside Yahoo.

Tobacco Firm Subpoenas 8 For Papers; Two House Members, 6 Journalists Named

Doug Levy was one of six journalists pursued by the tobacco industry for his investigative reporting that revealed secret science on tobacco and health.

The importance of FOIA as a tool for journalists and the public

Last week I had the honor of moderating a panel at The Rockefeller University that looked at how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other laws

The Communications Golden Hour: The Essential Guide to Public Information When Every Minute Counts

Once the importance of the first 60 minutes was recognized and trauma care was streamlined around that golden hour, survival rates after car crashes and other major injuries improved dramatically. The same systematic approach works for communications, too. The Communications Golden Hour provides a framework that streamlines planning, preparation and training for emergencies large and small, from natural disasters to major crimes and everything in-between. By separating what needs to happen in...

Lessons for Public Information Officers from Paul Revere

Times and technologies change, but the realities that prompted one of the most famous emergency alerts in history remain true today. Just as Paul Revere had to go door to door on April 18, 1775 - 243 years ago today - to alert John Hancock and others that the British were coming, the only emergency alert system that consistently works remains door-to-door, human contact.

Snow Day in Upper Manhattan

If you are concerned about corruption...

Here are just a few items that you may have missed in the past couple of days. UPDATE: On top of all the stuff below, check out the top story in the March 13 New Yorker , which documents a smelly deal between Trump and a known corrupt official in Azerbaijan that the magazine says looks like a money-laundering operation for the Iran Revolutionary Guard.