Recognizing best health journalism can be inspiring
One of the best things about working at AHCJ is the chance to see the broad range of really strong coverage our members produce.
Whether I’m reading stories about the ways money influences how medicine is practiced, uncovering the mistreatment of vulnerable people, looking at how pollution is affecting public health or investigating flawed health care systems, I am consistently awed by the work health journalists are doing.
I have the opportunity to see this work day in and day out, which is what helps keep me optimistic about the future of journalism. No doubt, we face many challenges, but take a look at the winners of last year’s Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism and I promise you will feel better about our business.
That’s why I want to encourage everyone to submit entries for this year’s contest. We re-vamped the categories this year to reflect changes in how news content is being delivered. We recognize that great reporting is being done across platforms and through new partnerships and collaborations.
We want to honor that reporting and make sure the rest of the world sees the value in independent, quality coverage of health and health care issues. Please consider entering your best work of 2011 and encourage your colleagues to do so as well so we can share it and we can learn from it.
Entries must be submitted by 5 p.m. ET this Friday, Feb. 3. Our online entry system makes it easier than ever and our contest committee is standing by to answer last-minute questions.
Award winners tackled range of important medical, health issues
Investigations into shoddy oversight of adult care homes and low quality at dialysis centers – along with moving portrayals of the trade-offs patients and their families face with some life-saving medical treatments – were among the top winners in this year’s Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism.
Read more about each winner, including a summary of each winning entry and the judges’ comments.
First-place honors also went to stories examining the bankruptcy of an iconic New York hospital and the pollution conundrum posed by wood stoves. Domestic issues were not the only focus: Winners also included a look at the state of health care in China and a series highlighting how other countries face up to difficult questions about who will receive care amid limited resources.
The 2010 awards, announced today by the Association of Health Care Journalists, recognize the best health reporting in nine categories covering print, broadcast and online media. The contest, in its seventh year, received more than 300 entries, an increase from the previous year.
“Journalists are tackling difficult and important medical and health policy issues, despite working in an era of increasingly limited resources,” said contest chair Julie Appleby, senior correspondent for the nonprofit Kaiser Health News. “The high quality of these winning entries show they are doing so in a way that not only captivates and informs, but in many cases also results in needed changes.”
AHCJ launched the awards program amid growing concern that too many journalism awards are sponsored by special interest groups that seek to sway media coverage. No health care companies or agencies fund AHCJ’s awards program.
AHCJ issues call for entries in annual contest
New this year: Submit your entries online
Early-bird (discounted entry fee): Dec. 24
Regular: Jan. 28, 2011
Since 2004, the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism have recognized the best health reporting in print, broadcast and online media. For the first time, AHCJ is now accepting contest entries online. 
That means a streamlined entry process, quick and efficient access to entries for judges, and less paper consumed. Entrants will no longer have to submit paper copies of articles and, with the exception of unusually large electronic files, face no shipping costs.
“We’re pleased to launch our online contest portal for the 2010 Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism,” said Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News reporter and chair of the AHCJ Contest Committee. “It will make it easier for journalists to submit their work, without the hassle of paper entries. It will also allow judges to review entries online and make it a more efficient contest.”
Entries can include a wide range of health coverage including public health, consumer health, medical research, the business of health care and health ethics. The contest was created by journalists for journalists and is not influenced or funded by commercial or special-interest groups.
First-place winners earn $500, a framed certificate and complimentary lodging for two nights and registration for the annual conference, to be April 14-27, 2011, in Philadelphia. First-place winners will be recognized at the conference and will be encouraged to appear on panels to discuss their winning work.
Fink wins Dart award for Memorial story
AHCJ member Sheri Fink’s 13,000-word piece on the difficult choices made at Memorial Hospital in the wake of Hurricane Katrina continues its run this awards season, adding the 2010 Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma to the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, second place in the large magazine category of AHCJ’s 2009 Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, and numerous other honors. It originally ran in The New York Times Magazine and on the ProPublica Web site.
A project of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma focuses on reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy. It has awarded the Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma since 1994.
Fink wrote an article for AHCJ members about how she reported the story and her insights for others undertaking long-form investigative reporting.
2009 winners named in health journalism awards
Investigations into questionable autism treatments, the safety of generic drugs, claims denials by disability insurers and the global trade in smuggled cigarettes were among the top winners in this year’s Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism.
The 2009 awards, announced today by the Association of Health Care Journalists, recognize the best health reporting in nine categories, covering print, broadcast and online media. The contest, in its sixth year, received more than 250 entries.
Links to the winning entries are available and AHCJ members also can read questionnaires about how the winning entries were reported and written.
Call for entries: Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism
Be recognized for your best work.
The Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism recognize the best health reporting in print, broadcast and online media. Entries can include a wide range of health coverage including public health, consumer health, medical research, the business of health care and health ethics.
Deadlines
Early-bird (discounted): Dec. 18
Regular: Jan. 22, 2010
Last year’s winners included a reporter’s revelation of astonishing conflicts of interest by scientists advocating for early detection of lung cancer, the exploration of a hidden world of illegal prescription drugs sold at swap meets, a narrative on a mechanic seeking to rebuild his life after an accident severed his arms, and a trip into the nightmarish world of a boy struggling with mental illness.
The contest was created by journalists for journalists and is not influenced or funded by commercial or special-interest groups.
2008 winners named in health journalism awards
AHCJ has named the latest winners of its annual awards. A reporter’s revelation of astonishing conflicts of interest by scientists advocating for early detection of lung cancer led to one of this year’s Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism.
The awards also spotlighted such work as the exploration of a hidden world of illegal prescription drugs sold at swap meets, a narrative on a mechanic seeking to rebuild his life after an accident severed his arms, and a trip into the nightmarish world of a boy struggling with mental illness.
“It seems that every day, journalists and the public are inundated with stories about the death of our profession,” said Charles Ornstein, contest co-chair and a senior reporter at ProPublica. “Yet these award winners offer clear evidence that good health care journalism continues. Not only that, they show in a compelling way why health care must remain an integral beat in newsrooms across the country.”
The 2008 awards recognize the best health reporting in 11 categories covering print, broadcast and online media. In its fifth year, the contest received nearly 300 entries.
Winning stories are available online and AHCJ members can view questionnaires filled out by the winners.
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