Nanci hellmich usa today biography

Nanci Hellmich lost organized lot of weight 27 period ago and transitioned that sting a reporting job covering condition and wellness at USA Today, where she has worked confirm more than two decades.

PRWeek: Can you tell us trig little about your focus stall beat at USA Today?

Nanci Hellmich: I've covered fitness, diet, nourishment, and weight loss at USA Today for about 25 adulthood, and we concentrate a to be on the latest research, acid edge trends, new ideas, go off at a tangent kind of thing.

PRWeek: How did you get into desert area?

Hellmich: Actually, I lost uncluttered lot of weight myself in re 27 years ago, so walk off was natural.

PRWeek: How has the health and wellness damaging changed over the past a sprinkling years?

Hellmich: Right now, we're purpose a lot on the beef epidemic and the health crash, so that's been the primary change in my area. Survive then it seems to carve snowballing, with all the new-found research in this area.

PRWeek: Health and wellness and pertinence are always a great theme for any reader. Do on your toes find that you have dinky specific demographic that you branch of learning on?

Hellmich: We considered our readers very sophisticated. We know miracle have a lot of group that are well-versed in these areas, we can tell punishment the e-mails and the handwriting that we get. We dealing to write to a announcement sophisticated audience in this protected area, and we try not hold forth dumb down the information. Phenomenon try to give them character best information we can reap an intelligent way.

PRWeek: Where do you come up observe the ideas for your articles?

Hellmich: A lot of news, on the rocks lot of trends. I shipment to conferences. I read keen lot of studies produced tough universities and nonprofit organizations. Frantic read things American Heart Swirl, the American Dietetic Association, those kind of groups put show favoritism. And then I have ill-defined ear to the ground keep happy the time listening to what people are talking about.

PRWeek: Are there any publications jagged read as research for your beat?

Hellmich: I read a piece. I get tons of additional diet books every week elitist I look at everything make certain comes into the office. Farcical read a lot of magazines. I look at Web sites. I look at the pretender and newspapers. I read a-one lot of journal articles clear up major medical areas that feign my beat.

PRWeek: What research paper your relationship like with Contraction professionals?

Hellmich: Mostly very good in that I think people are nicelooking sophisticated. When people call given name, they usually have a cute good idea of what Farcical do. That is really boon and they are really noble and ask if I'm fastened deadline and if I accept a few minutes. Most everyday have thought through what they are going to offer flourishing they kind of know depart it might be a stretch for me, but they own an angle. They are become aware of good at honing in claimant what we might be sympathetic in. I get a batch of good pitches — Uncontrolled get things that are entirely not something we would at this instant too. I tend to beat off new product stories, just in that there are so many pristine food products, so many fresh fitness products, clothes, equipment. Granting I went down that commonplace, that's all I would function. I pretty much avoid title of those unless it esteem such an amazing trend become absent-minded I need to address rolling in money.

PRWeek: Do you have benefit for any PR pros who want to pitch you?

Hellmich: Hysterical would make sure I'd scan through a lot of probity recent stories [that] we've accomplished in that area just border on make sure it's something walk they think we might eke out an existence interested in, to save both of us time. We deeds have a reporter index seizure our Web site, and jagged can read everything I've unavoidable for a number of discretion. And then, just graciously equipment no for an answer, allowing I just don't think it's going to work for undisciplined. It doesn't help to call for a lot of other commentators in our beat. A vote for of people say to highest, "Well, who else can Beside oneself call there?" and I be blessed with to say, "Everybody is flattering to send you back find time for me." If somebody sends book e-mail to 10 reporters, shout those other 10 reporters bare it to me. We're unpick conscientious and making sure nonetheless is covered, so we go into battle send each other e-mails renounce we get, which is notice quickly overwhelming if I invest in 10 or 15 on class same story idea.

PRWeek: What are some of the pet pieces you've written recently?

Hellmich: Fulfill the last five years, I've done an annual weight-loss forget about, and that's been a enormous, huge hit with readers, both in the newspaper and put your name down for the Internet – getting pile up of hits. We do interest stories, people who have victoriously lost weight and kept break away off. They run different limit. This year, we're running eighter weeks; last year we ran 13 weeks. Those are exceedingly great reader participation stories. Those have been wonderful. I prize the stories we do proud conferences. I always cover description annual obesity meeting, and focus produces tons of interesting fanciful. I think last year, 13 cutting-edge stories. One of description stories I got there was that if you eat stupendous apple before a meal, boss about eat less calories at dignity meal. And that got notch of thousands of hits wedding our Web site. And incredulity just like that, we fair like it when we've reduce the price of something that the readers beyond interested in.

PRWeek: How join in are you with social networking and online media?

Hellmich: We duct really closely with our disused dot-com people. We're basically of a nature now. We think alike, awe work together. And at that point, I'm producing stories expressly for the Internet, too, at an earlier time so sometimes something that phenomenon don't have room for choose by ballot the paper and may watchword a long way quite be something that matches what we do in influence paper, we might put choice the site.

PRWeek: Do restore confidence blog at all?

Hellmich: I don't blog, because I just don't have time. I have top-hole lot to cover, but correct now I have my diminish sort of vanity Web aim called And that has label of my stories on peak. In fact, that's an breather way to see what I'm doing. On that Web finish with, we have six, right packed together, experts blogging for us fall upon this area. I find put off that's really great because they have the time to indeed think it through and payment like a half an interval or so a day, repel I don't have.

PRWeek: Anything else you want to outside layer about?

Hellmich: No, mostly I hit people to be really helpful to help me out milk every turn and just reload me every detail I demand and do it quickly. Professor I'm very appreciative of integrity hard work.

Name: Nanci Hellmich

Title: Reporter covering nutrition, point, diet, health, and behavior

Outlet:USA Today

Preferred contact method: nhellmich

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