Journalism Fellows Showcase the Many Dimensions of Aging in America

Ten reporters have spent this summer at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism producing a series of in-depth multimedia reports on the elderly, depicting the complex dimensions of aging. The reporters are fellows of News21 , a national program that supports new forms of reporting and investigative journalism. Several pieces from their recently launched website, Brave Old World , have been featured in The Washington Post , The New York Times and AARP Bulletin . Dementia patients talk about their illness in "What We Know About Dementia," produced by News21 fellows at Columbia's journalism school. The project involved comprehensive research to address a subject of growing importance to Americans. According to federal statistics, in 2008, 39 million people age 65 and over lived in the United States, accounting for 13 percent of the total population. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the population of people age 85 and older could grow from 5.7 million in 2008 to 19 million by 2050.