so now i'd like to turn things over to michael rosenfeld, head of television an film at tangled bank and executive producer of vaccines calling the shots. >> thank you, julia, for that kind introduction. and thank you myron, for participating in this briefing. good morning, everyone. thanks so much for coming. subject of vaccination is on the mind of many americans right now as we send our kids back to school at a time when vaccine preventable outbreaks are making headlines around the country. the cdc puts the numbers in perspective. measles was declared eradicated in this country in the year 2000. but there have been almost 600 cases so far this year. that the highest number in the u.s. in almost two decades. per tusis or whooping cough is also a problem. 2012 was an especially bad year with nearly 50,000 cases and 20 deaths in the u.s. this year, the state of california declared a per tus yis epidemic. these are diseases that vaccines can and do prevent so the numbers will make anyone, but especially a journalist, wonder what is going on. at tangle bank studios, our mission so to s

our moderator today is michael ros rosenfeld, the head of tangle bank studios here in washington. the term tangle bank was inspired by the origin of charles darwin and his tangle hypothesis. named after darwin's colorful description after complicated ecosystem. so we look to you, julia and michael, and other experts on the panel to help us understand the complicated ecosystem of vaccines. thank you so much again for having this important discussion, this very important discussion, at the national press club under the auspices of its journalism institute. i'm very pleased to turn over the floor to julia koord. >> thank you, myron. and thank you to the national press club institute for hosting this briefing and thank you all for coming this morning. we're here to talk about reporting on vaccinations and outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases. and to share some insights we've gained while preparing our upcoming program vaccines calling the shot. vaccination is really a perfect topic for nova to cover because our primary mission is improving the public's understanding of science th