PITTSBURGH—Environmental Health News reporter Kristina Marusic received the second place award in the Beat Reporting category of the Association of Health Care Journalists' annual contest.
The annual Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism were established in 2004 to recognize the best health reporting in print, broadcast and online media.
The contest sees entries from journalists covering public health, consumer health, medical research, and health ethics in a variety of categories, including Beat Reporting, Investigative Reporting, and Health Policy. The awards were created by journalists for journalists and are not influenced or funded by commercial or special-interest groups.
Marusic's winning collection of stories uncovered a wide variety of public health threats in Southwestern Pennsylvania, including polluted air linked to elevated child cancer rates; "forever chemicals" being unknowingly spread on farm fields; and a questionable lawsuit settlement by a notorious polluter known for sickening residents.
Credit: Bruce Emmerling/Pixabay
"It's an honor to be recognized by such a well-respected organization alongside so many talented journalists who are making a real impact," Marusic said.
First place in the Beat Reporting category went to freelancer Patricia Nevins Kime for her body of work in The New York Times Magazine, the Military Times and Military.com, which tackled issues like military troops suffering from chronic lead exposure and high rates of suicide, a court ruling about Agent Orange, and a military malpractice lawsuit.
Third place in the category went to Donald G. McNeil Jr., a science and health reporter for the The New York Times, for his body of work covering drug-resistant bacteria in the Himalayas, a medical mission through rural Ugandan villages, a new drug combination for XDR tuberculosis, and the sudden end of the U.S. government's PREDICT program, which enabled scientists to search for animal viruses that may one day infect humans.
The awards ceremony was to be held during the Association of Health Care Journalists' annual convention in Austin, Texas, in May, but has been indefinitely postponed due to coronavirus.
