Jennifer Merigan
Jennifer Merigan manages and edits Have a Go News, a long‑running lifestyle newspaper for mature readers, and writes health and lifestyle stories aimed at older audiences. Her work focuses on healthy ageing, preventive health and everyday choices such as diet, activity and social connection. She combines service pieces on topics like type 2 diabetes with features on loneliness, community life and travel, giving readers practical guidance grounded in their day‑to‑day experience.
Healthy ageing and prevention‑focused health coverage
Health for Jennifer is framed as part of everyday living, with a strong emphasis on prevention and self‑management in later life. In her coverage of type 2 diabetes, she highlights lifestyle as the key lever for reducing risk and managing the condition, making clinical concepts accessible and actionable for non‑specialist readers. She brings a similar focus to mental and social health, writing about how older Australians without family are more likely to feel lonely and exploring what that means for readers’ wellbeing as they age. Across these pieces she links individual health outcomes to practical choices and social context, encouraging readers to see healthy ageing as a combination of medical awareness, daily habits and community support rather than a narrow clinical issue.
Nutrition and product comparisons for everyday choices
Nutrition is a recurring strand in her work, often approached through specific, familiar products rather than abstract dietary advice. In “Raising the Bar: Which Muesli Bars Make the Cut?” she compares muesli bars for readers, signalling a willingness to get into the detail of what is on supermarket shelves and how it lines up with health and lifestyle goals. The focus on a staple snack item shows her preference for framing nutrition around decisions her audience makes every week, connecting health guidance to taste, convenience and value. For communications around food, diet and consumer health, she is attuned to the mature reader who is interested in both wellbeing and practicality, and who responds to clear, side‑by‑side comparisons of everyday options.
Community, connection and later‑life wellbeing
Jennifer’s health coverage is closely tied to broader questions of community and connection in later life. Her piece on older Australians without family and loneliness treats social isolation as a serious wellbeing issue, not just a lifestyle concern. She also features stories such as the restoration of a Halvorsen boat, using heritage and craft to explore the interests and identities of her readers beyond medical topics. As editor, she is described as relentless in seeking extensive coverage of community information, public services, quizzes, travel, health and everyday life, which reinforces that her health reporting sits inside a wider commitment to informed, connected, engaged ageing. This mix of social issues, community services and human‑interest features makes her coverage distinct from a generic health beat that focuses only on diseases or hospital systems.
Travel and experiences for active older readers
Active ageing is also central to her work, and travel is one of the ways she brings that to life. In a feature billed as an “Antarctic – Trip of a Lifetime,” readers are invited to join Jennifer on a day‑trip flight to Antarctica, positioning her not only as a storyteller but as a host for ambitious experiences tailored to her audience. The piece presents travel as something older readers can still embrace at scale, aligning with descriptions of her as a long‑standing advocate for inclusive storytelling and active ageing. Alongside more traditional health articles, these travel and experience‑driven stories show she is interested in the full spectrum of later‑life possibilities, from managing chronic conditions to pursuing bucket‑list adventures. That breadth offers a platform for narratives about resilience, curiosity and participation that go beyond standard travel writing and connect directly to themes of wellbeing and independence.
Long‑term stewardship of a mature‑audience masthead
Jennifer is the second generation to manage Have a Go News, which was founded by her parents in 1991, and she has been part of the publication since 1998. Over that tenure she has helped shape the paper into what is described as Western Australia’s longest‑running lifestyle newspaper targeting the mature demographic, giving her an unusually deep understanding of older readers’ interests and information needs. Public profiles characterise her as the passionate managing editor behind the masthead and highlight her advocacy for inclusive, age‑positive storytelling. This long‑term stewardship, combined with hands‑on reporting on health, nutrition, community and travel, means her voice carries both editorial authority and on‑the‑ground familiarity with how health and lifestyle messages land with a mature audience.
4 more health journalists.
Abida Tasnim
Abida Tasnim is a health writer for The Daily Star who focuses on clear, practical guidance that helps readers recognise risks early and act before everyday illnesses turn into wider public health problems. She reports on infectious disease prevention, using measles coverage to show how outbreaks start with individual decisions and behaviours, not just hospital statistics. Her work explains what happens during an outbreak and then anchors the story in simple steps people can take, such as avoiding crowded places when symptoms appear, practising good hygiene, and seeking medical advice early. She writes direct, action‑oriented health explainers that turn clinical questions about contagion and disease burden into everyday choices. Across her beat, she stresses early recognition, timely care, and prevention as the foundations of healthier communities.
Adrián Carballo Casla
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Amanda Sheppeard
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