In a region where access to healthcare, innovation, and equity intersect daily, journalism plays a critical role in shaping public understanding. For Florida International University (FIU) alumna Michelle Marchante, healthcare reporting is not just about systems and statistics—it is about people, trust, and impact. Her journey from student journalist at FIU’s School of Communication, to award-winning professional reflects the power of hands-on education, community-centered storytelling, and the evolving role of journalism in advancing public health. Now, with a successful career at the Miami Herald, Michelle is able to reflect on not only the growing responsibilities healthcare journalists face, but how her time at FIU, served as a catalyst for her career today.
Having graduated from the School of Communication from FIU’s College of Communication, Architecture + the Arts (CARTA), Michelle entered the industry at a point where she can testify how the digital landscape has evolved. This landscape now centers around audiences consuming content, some of it being news, on social platforms.
With the rise of social media and the attention span of consumers getting shorter than ever, does that possess a threat for journalism? “I see it [social media] as a very big challenge, not just for healthcare, but for all types of journalism,” Marchante said.
At a time where the news spreads so fast, it’s easy to take for granted a silent part of the industry that carries a loud impact: healthcare journalism and for Michelle, it was a no-brainer that she wanted to be a part of making the difference, “healthcare in South Florida is huge…if you don’t have your health, you’re going to be struggling.”
Throughout her career, Marchante has reported on some of the region’s most pressing healthcare issues, covering topics that range from COVID-19, hospital systems and workforce shortages to access, innovation, and patient care. As healthcare continues to evolve, she sees journalism as an essential bridge between institutions and the communities they serve. “We’re seeing so many different changes,” she said. “Everyone is looking at how to bring care closer to the patient and make it more accessible. It’s become, how can we treat you, so you never get to that point?”
That focus on prevention and accessibility, Marchante noted, aligns closely with FIU’s growing role in health innovation, including its partnership with local medical facilities like Baptist Health and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. “People trust FIU,” she said. “Having another academic hospital system brings more research, which is always good for the community because it helps bring new creativity.”
As South Florida’s healthcare landscape expands, so does the need for trained professionals—an issue Marchante has reported on extensively. “That’s one of the challenges we’re seeing,” she said. “There are not enough doctors. The more opportunities we have for health systems in South Florida, it makes it easier for people to get into that field and in turn increases the ability for people to have doctors.”
Marchante’s ability to report on complex healthcare topics with clarity and empathy was shaped early in her career at FIU. As a student, she was heavily involved in Panther Now, FIU’s student-run newsroom, where she gained hands-on experience reporting, writing, and producing stories under real deadlines. At a time when video wasn’t one of the main forms of dynamic content like it is today, Michelle followed her instinct and advocated for the incorporation of capturing news through video, something that proved to be effective years later.
“Everything I’ve done in my job, I’ve done in some shape or form at FIU,” she said.
That immersive, experiential learning model—central to CARTA’s curriculum—prepared Marchante for the realities of professional journalism, “I never felt scared in the workforce.”
One of her most impactful reporting experiences came while covering North Shore Medical Center, a story that reinforced the responsibility journalists carry when reporting on health. “How can I tell their story in a way that’s respectful?” she said. “It’s probably one of the most important things we have to do.”
For Marchante, healthcare journalism demands more than narrative skill—it requires fluency in data. “In healthcare journalism, there’s a lot of numbers,” she said. “Regardless of what journalism field you’re pursuing, you need to learn data—how to interpret it and how to visualize it.”
As technology reshapes both healthcare and media, Marchante believes journalists must adapt, particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence. “I think AI is a double-edged sword,” she said. “It’s not going away, so we need to adapt to it.”
Rather than replacing journalism, she sees AI as a tool that can strengthen it. For example, Michelle finds herself turning to AI tools for a few components of crafting a story, such as research and data visualization. “AI is a good opportunity to speed up parts of our workload,” she said. “So we can focus on what really matters, which is speaking to people. AI can’t replicate our voice.”
That perspective has helped propel her career forward. In recent years, Marchante has earned numerous journalism awards recognizing her healthcare coverage—milestones that reflect both her professional growth and the foundation she built as a student journalist at FIU.
As FIU and CARTA continue to prepare the next generation of storytellers, Marchante’s career serves as a powerful example of how experiential learning, ethical reporting, and community focus can shape journalism that informs, inspires, and improves lives.
“Students need to focus on learning a little bit of everything,” she said. For FIU students entering the field, the message is clear: the stories they tell—and how they tell them—matter.
