Melissa Sweet
Encyclopedia
Melissa Sweet is a multi-award winning Australian freelance journalist and author. Formerly employed by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Bulletin magazine and Australian Associated Press, she specialises in writing about health and medical issues.
She spent six years as medical writer for press agency Australian Associated Press, then took a position with PR firm Hill and Knowlton from 1993 to 1994 as a Senior account manager (healthcare). She moved back into news journalism in 1994, working as the medical writer for the Sydney Morning Herald and a columnist for Good Weekend magazine until 1998, when she was employed by The Bulletin magazine as a columnist and feature writer until 2003.
In 2002, Sweet was invited to join the Advisory Committee to an Australian Law Reform Commission and Australian Health Ethics Committee joint inquiry into the protection of human genetic information.
Sweet was awarded the National Press Club John Douglas Pringle Award
in 2003, involving a travelling fellowship to the UK to research quality and safety in health care in England.
Since then she has been a freelance journalist, with a regular column in the Adelaide Independent Weekly until 2005, and adjunct senior lecturer positions at the University of Sydney and University of Notre Dame.
Sweet currently runs the popular health blog Croakey, for Australian online outlet Crikey, and contributes to Australian Rural Doctor, Australian Doctor, Australian Worker, the British Medical Journal
, The Medical Journal of Australia, Australian Prescriber, Australian Nursing Journal and other professional publications.
In 2008, Sweet was awarded the Obesity Society Media Award.
Sweet is one of the founders of YouComm News
, an Australian open-source community journalism project which began in 2010.
Early life and career
Sweet grew up in central Queensland, and on completing school, enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in journalism and agriculture at Curtin University of Technology in Perth (which was then known as WAIT). Sweet was awarded the WAIT Academic Staff Association Medal as top graduating student when she completed the course in 1984.She spent six years as medical writer for press agency Australian Associated Press, then took a position with PR firm Hill and Knowlton from 1993 to 1994 as a Senior account manager (healthcare). She moved back into news journalism in 1994, working as the medical writer for the Sydney Morning Herald and a columnist for Good Weekend magazine until 1998, when she was employed by The Bulletin magazine as a columnist and feature writer until 2003.
In 2002, Sweet was invited to join the Advisory Committee to an Australian Law Reform Commission and Australian Health Ethics Committee joint inquiry into the protection of human genetic information.
Sweet was awarded the National Press Club John Douglas Pringle Award
John Douglas Pringle Award
John Douglas Pringle Award or British Prize for Journalism is offered jointly by the British High Commission and the Australian National Press Club. It is named after a distinguished journalist, John Douglas Pringle.- Winners :* 1999: Sally Sara...
in 2003, involving a travelling fellowship to the UK to research quality and safety in health care in England.
Since then she has been a freelance journalist, with a regular column in the Adelaide Independent Weekly until 2005, and adjunct senior lecturer positions at the University of Sydney and University of Notre Dame.
Sweet currently runs the popular health blog Croakey, for Australian online outlet Crikey, and contributes to Australian Rural Doctor, Australian Doctor, Australian Worker, the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
, The Medical Journal of Australia, Australian Prescriber, Australian Nursing Journal and other professional publications.
In 2008, Sweet was awarded the Obesity Society Media Award.
Sweet is one of the founders of YouComm News
YouComm News
YouCommNews is an Australian non-profit organisation based on the US group Spot.us which brings journalists, publishers and the public together for crowd-sourcing of ideas and resources for high quality, community driven journalism...
, an Australian open-source community journalism project which began in 2010.
Articles
- Intensive glare, 16 Feb 2010, Australian Broadcasting Commission