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Our Awards

2024

Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Investigative Reporting

STAT reporters Casey Ross and Bob Herman were named 2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalists in Investigative Reporting for highlighting the dangers of AI use in medicine. Through their reporting, Casey and Bob exposed how UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health insurer, used an unregulated algorithm to override clinicians’ judgement and deny care for patients. Read the story here.

Online Journalism Awards

Casey Ross and Bob Herman won two awards, in the Excellence in Technology Reporting category and the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, for their series “Denied by AI: Consequences for Sick and Vulnerable Americans.”

Anna Yeo and Megan Molteni won the award for Short Form Digital Media Storytelling, for their video explainer, “What is in utero gene editing?” Molteni was also named a finalist for the 3M Truth in Science Award, for “The new weight loss drugs are revolutionizing our understanding of desire. Food cravings could be just the beginning.” And a team of STAT reporters was a finalist in the Sports, Health and Wellness category, for “The Obesity Revolution” series.

Poynter Journalism Prizes’ Batten Medal

Casey Ross and Bob Herman won the Poynter Journalism Prizes’ Batten Medal, which recognizes exceptional journalism that makes a difference to the lives of people and their communities, for their series “Denied by AI: Consequences for Sick and Vulnerable Americans.”

Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting

Usha Lee McFarling received the award for exposing and explaining racial disparities in health care and her dedication to mentoring the next generation of journalists.

Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award

Jason Mast won the annual prize for a young science journalist for his reporting on the science, business decisions, and ethical conundrums of getting genetic medicines to people in need.

Edward R. Murrow Awards

STAT was recognized with the national Murrow Award for excellence in writing in the large digital news organization category for Eric Boodman’s profile, “How a conservative, gun-toting doctor defended abortion access in Appalachia.“

Society of Professional Journalists

The Society of Professional Journalists honored STAT with two 2023 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism. STAT was honored as the top Specialized Journalism Site, and Casey Ross and Bob Herman were honored in Business/Finance Reporting for their series Denied by AI.

NIHCM Awards

Casey Ross and Bob Herman won the award for investigative and general reporting for “Denied by AI: Consequences for Sick and Vulnerable Americans,” a four-part series examining how Medicare Advantage plans use AI to cut off care for seniors in need.

STAT’s Rachel Cohrs and MuckRock’s Betsy Ladyzhets were named finalists in investigative and general reporting for their investigation, “The NIH has poured $1 billion into long Covid research — with little to show for it.” The Tradeoffs Podcast, in collaboration with STAT’s Bob Herman and Tara Bannow, were named a finalist in television and audio for “Can the U.S. Put an End to Surprise Ambulance Bills?”

Asian American Journalists Association Awards

Usha Lee McFarling won in the Excellence in Science / Environment / Health Reporting category for coverage of Asian American health disparities.

National Headliner Awards

Casey Ross and Bob Herman won first place in the online investigative reporting for digital-only website category for their series “Denied by AI: Consequences for Sick and Vulnerable Americans.” Nicholas Florko won third place in the online beat reporting health and science category for his story on how medical marijuana companies are using pharma’s sales tactics with little of the same scrutiny.

Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing “Best in Business” Awards

STAT won for general excellence in the medium division for its authoritative coverage of the business of health and medicine.

STAT’s Obesity Revolution series won the explanatory category in the medium division. Elaine Chen, Matthew Herper, Nicholas Florko, Andrew Joseph, and Damian Garde were recognized.

Bob Herman won in the health/science category in the medium division for his investigation into rampant conflicts of interest between PBMs and consulting firms. Herman and Casey Ross received an honorable mention in the same category for their investigation into how Medicare Advantage plans use AI to cut off care for seniors in need.

Tara Bannow received an honorable mention in the feature category, medium division, for her story on how the country’s biggest hospital chain took over a storied hospital system in North Carolina, a move that negatively impacted patient care.

National Magazine Awards

STAT was named as a finalist for general excellence in the special interest category.

Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Journalism

Bob Herman and Casey Ross were named finalists for their investigation into how Medicare Advantage plans use AI to cut off care for seniors in need.

Investigative Reporters & Editors Award

Casey Ross and Bob Herman were named finalists in print/online – division I for their series “Denied by AI: Consequences for Sick and Vulnerable Americans.”

Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting

STAT was a finalist for this award from the USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism. The investigative series by Casey Ross and Bob Herman looked at how UnitedHealth used secret, algorithm-based rules to make critical — and often devastating — health care coverage decisions.

AHCJ Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism

STAT won third place in the consumer feature (large) category for the Obesity Revolution series. Casey Ross and Bob Herman won second place in the investigative (large) category for their Denied by AI series, and Herman received an honorable mention in the business category for his story on how opaque conflicts of interest permeate prescription drug benefits.

2023

Edward R. Murrow Awards

STAT was recognized with the national Murrow Award for excellence in diversity, equity and inclusion in the large digital news organization category. Three stories on inequality in medicine by Usha Lee McFarling and Angus Chen were honored. Stories included the challenges faced by Black medical residents, breast cancer disparities in clinical trials, and racial differences in pulse oximeter accuracy.

News & Documentary Emmy Awards

The STAT documentary “Augmented,” directed by Matthew Orr and produced with NOVA, received a national Emmy nomination in the “Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary” category.

WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Americas

STAT was honored for best news website, and was also the small or local company winner in that category. STAT also won the award for best digital subscription initiative from a small or local company.

American Association for Cancer Research

Angus Chen and Nicholas St. Fleur won the AACR June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism in the online/multimedia category. Chen won for a story on a trust-building cancer center director reaching out in marginalized neighborhoods. St. Fleur won for a story on Chadwick Boseman’s colorectal cancer and its wider implications for young Black men.

Editor & Publisher EPPY Awards

STAT won best business reporting for an Allison DeAngelis story on data integrity issues at a biotech startup. We were honored for best website redesign/relaunch in the small division, and were finalists in the small division for best investigative/enterprise feature, a look at how Medicare Advantage plans use algorithms to cut off care.

ASME National Magazine Awards

STAT was a finalist for general excellence from the American Society of Magazine Editors. Nicholas Florko was a finalist in public interest for “Death Sentence,” an investigation into the lack of care for incarcerated people with Hepatitis C.

Livingston Awards

Nicholas Florko was a national reporting finalist for this University of Michigan award. He investigated the prisons’ policy to treat incarcerated people with hepatitis C.

NIHCM Awards

For the general circulation journalism award, Angus Chen was a finalist for a story on cancer patients dying while on a waiting list. STAT’s Casey Ross and MIT’s Adam Yala, Janice Yang and Ludvig Karstens were finalists for exposing AI dangers with patient data. J. Emory Parker was a finalist for the digital media award for a piece on 1 million U.S. Covid deaths.

Online News Association Awards

Usha Lee McFarling was a finalist in the topical reporting: race, gender, and identity category (medium newsroom) for her series of stories on racism in medicine and the dire consequences.

Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing “Best in Business” Awards

Katie Palmer, Mario Aguilar and J. Emory Parker received an honorable mention in data journalism, small division, for a data-driven investigation of the FDA breakthrough medical device program.

Lev Facher received an honorable mention in health/science, small division, for a story of how a D.C. power couple used an ALS diagnosis to create a political juggernaut.

A collaboration of The Markup and STAT received an honorable mention in investigative, small division, for “Pixel Hunt,” a look at the privacy implications of website tracking pixels used on health care sites.

2022

George Polk Awards

Adam Feuerstein, Matthew Herper, and Damian Garde won the George Polk Award in the medical reporting category. Their investigation found that Biogen used an FDA back channel to win approval for Aduhelm, a costly treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Edward R. Murrow Awards

STAT was recognized with the national Murrow Award for excellence in writing in the large digital news organization category for Eric Boodman’s story, “How medicine erased Black women from a ‘white man’s disease’.”

NIHCM Awards

Adam Feuerstein, Damian Garde, Matthew Herper, and Nicholas Florko won the NICHM Award in the general circulation journalism category for their coverage of the controversial approval of an Alzheimer’s drug. Casey Ross was a finalist for his coverage of artificial intelligence in health care.

Association of Health Care Journalists Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism

Usha Lee McFarling won first place in the beat reporting category for her reporting on health disparities and structural racism in medicine.

Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing “Best in Business” Awards

Adam Feuerstein, Damian Garde, Matthew Herper, and Nicholas Florko won in the investigative category, small division, for their coverage of “Project Onyx” and the controversial approval of an Alzheimer’s drug.

Eric Boodman received an honorable mention for “Selling Certainty,” a story about EpicGenetics fibromyalgia testing that later prompted a lawsuit from a consumer watchdog group.

Rachel Cohrs received an honorable mention for her investigation into a hospital system moonlighting as a private equity firm.

Scripps Howard Awards

STAT was named a Scripps Howard Award finalist in the excellence in visual journalism category for “Distanced.” Bethany Mollenkof spent six months documenting the impact of Covid-19 on residents of rural Black communities in the South.

ASME Awards for Photography and Illustration

STAT was named a finalist for the ASME Awards for Photography and Illustration in the best service and lifestyle story category for “Distanced.”

WAN-IFRA North American Digital Media Awards

“Color Code” won first place in the podcast category, and data-driven projects for STAT subscribers were a finalist in the reader revenue initiative category.

Editor & Publisher EPPY Awards

From Editor & Publisher, an award for best investigative/enterprise feature for Tara Bannow’s story on private equity’s profit fixation short-changing children with autism.

Best collaborative investigative/enterprise reporting for a Casey Ross story on AI algorithms undermining patient safety.

Best business reporting for a Rachel Cohrs story on a tax-exempt hospital system running a private equity fund.

Best use of data/infographics in division for “The ‘five pandemics’ driving 1 million U.S. Covid deaths.”

Best photojournalism on a website for “Distanced: Pandemic stories of Black life in the rural South.”

2021

George Polk Awards

Helen Branswell won the George Polk Award in the public service category for her “relentless coverage” of all aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pulitzer Prizes

Helen Branswell, Andrew Joseph, and the late Sharon Begley were named Pulitzer Prize finalists in the breaking news reporting category “for their prescient, expert and accessible coverage of the emergence of COVID-19, sounding the alarm on the potential spread and potency of the virus.”

Edward R. Murrow Awards

STAT was recognized with the national Murrow Award for overall excellence in the large digital journalism category for its coverage of Covid-19, “one of the biggest stories of our lifetimes.”

Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting

Awarded to Helen Branswell for her coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

National Headliner Awards

Eric Boodman won first place in the digital features category for his story on the Covid-19 death of a hospital food worker. Helen Branswell and Sharon Begley won third place for online pandemic coverage.

Society of Professional Journalists New America Award

Eric Boodman won this SPJ award for this story: “In the Covid-19 death of a hospital food worker, a microcosm of the pandemic.”

Asian American Journalists Association Journalism Excellence Awards

Usha Lee McFarling was honored for stories on how Covid-19 impacted marginalized communities.

Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award

Nicholas St. Fleur won the annual prize for a young science journalist for his reporting, particularly on topics around race, medicine, and research.

Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing “Best in Business” Awards

Nicholas Florko won first place in the newsletter category for D.C. Diagnosis.

Editor & Publisher EPPY Awards

Best business coverage for “Groundbreaking Coverage of Momentous Alzheimer’s Drug Approval”

Best enterprise video for Nicholas St. Fleur and Hyacinth Empinado: “Why I Got a Colonoscopy So Young.“

Best mobile news app in division.

WAN-IFRA North American Digital Media Awards

Morning Rounds won for Best Newsletter and was also the small/local publisher winner in that category. STAT was the small/local publisher winner for Best in Audience Engagement as well as for Best News Website.

Association of Health Care Journalists Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism

Casey Ross, Rebecca Robbins, Erin Brodwin, and Dominic Smith won third place in the consumer/feature category for coverage of artificial intelligence in medicine.

2020

  • Editor & Publisher EPPY Awards: Best in division for online-only news website; best business/finance website in division; best business reporting in division for “The Pandemic: An Historic Business Story”; best use of data/infographics in division for the Covid-19 Tracker, in partnership with Applied XL
  • News Leaders Association Deborah Howell Award for Writing Excellence: Eric Boodman won for a collection of features about medicine, including a story about the aftermath of a baby’s death from SIDS, and ‘The Medicine Hunters.”
  • National Society of Newspaper Columnists: Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu won second place for general interest online columns, for two of her Off the Charts columns about her experiences as a resident physician and a new mother.
  • AACR June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism: Eric Boodman won in the online/multimedia category for “The Medicine Hunters.”
  • Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing “Best in Business” Awards:
    Eric Boodman won first place in the health/science category and honorable mention in the feature category for “The Medicine Hunters.” Matthew Herper won honorable mention in the commentary/opinion category for articles on drug pricing and drug development.
  • WAN-IFRA North American Digital Media Awards:: STAT won for Best Paid Content Strategy: “Evolving consumer revenue: From subscriptions to summits.”

2019

2018

2017

  • Online News Association Online Journalism Awards: David Armstrong, Matthew Orr, and the STAT project team won in the feature category for “Dope Sick,” an immersive and raw narrative about best friends from a Toledo, Ohio, suburb who stumble into the world of opioids; one ends up dead, the other jailed for involuntary manslaughter. Carl Zimmer and the STAT project team won in the explanatory reporting category for “Game of Genomes,” a 13-part series that enlisted two dozen scientists to explore Carl’s own genome using the latest techniques to discover genetic mutations and even stretches of DNA inherited from Neanderthals.
  • Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting: Awarded to Sharon Begley for a collection of her work.
  • Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Journalists: Awarded to Eric Boodman for a collection of his work.
  • American Society of Magazine Editors Next Awards for Journalists Under 30: Awarded to Eric Boodman for a collection of his work.
  • NIHCM Foundation Health Care Digital Media Award: David Armstrong, Matthew Orr, and Natalia Bronshtein won for coverage of the opioid crisis.
  • GlobeDocs Film Festival: STAT won the Audience Award (Shorts Program) for the documentary “Runnin’.”
  • Webby Awards: STAT was named a nominee in the health website category.

2016