Will corps of R.I. health reporters shrink?

PROVIDENCE – Unconfirmed reports about plans by WJAR-TV Channel 10 to have Barbara Morse Silva join Frank Coletta as co-anchor as part of the early morning news show has raised the question among the small statewide corps of news reporters covering the health beat in Rhode Island: Will the number of reporters on the beat be shrinking?
The unconfirmed story was published by golocalprov.com. Chris Lanni, the news director at Channel 10, denied the report, saying: “There are no changes finalized or confirmed. Barbara Morse-Silva will remain the Health Check reporter,” he said.
Some changes appear to be in the works at the station. On June 30, Lisa Churchville retired from her position as president and general manager of WJAR-TV Channel 10, and a replacement has not yet been named.
Currently, there are four statewide health care reporters in Rhode Island: Felice Fryer at The Providence Journal, Megan Hall at WRNI, the state’s public radio station, Richard Asinof at The Providence Business News, and Morse-Silva.
The dearth of health care reporters seems at odds with the large size of the sector. The health care sector in Rhode Island is the state’s largest private employer, and between hospitals and doctors, more than $10 billion a year is pumped into the state’s economy. The knowledge district in Providence will be anchored by the new home of the Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University. The knowledge district currently houses the research arms of both Lifespan and Women & Infants Hospital, bringing in about $100 million a year in research revenues.
“The public is always served by more information,” said Hall. “The more health care reporters, the better they can keep Rhode Islanders educated about how the system works – or doesn’t work. We give the public more information to help them advocate for themselves about their health,” she said. “Health literacy is really important, particularly as costs go up. It would be great to have more people in the state looking at these issues.”