BOSTON, April 10 — STAT has won its first National Magazine Award for General Excellence. It is one of the most prestigious awards in American journalism.
After having been a finalist four times over the last two years, STAT was recognized among special interest publications serving highly defined reader communities.
The citation specifically cited three impactful series by STAT in 2024:
- “Coercive Care’’ documented ways in which doctors have pressured women with sickle cell disease to have tubal ligations they didn’t want or fully understand, as recently as 2022.
- “War on Recovery’’ debunked an entrenched, defeatist narrative: that the American opioid crisis is a tragedy with no solution. The reality is that methadone and buprenorphine are highly effective in treating opioid addiction. STAT unraveled the ways in which virtually every sector of American society is obstructing the use of these medications.
- “Heath Care’s Colossus’’ exposed how UnitedHealth Group — best known for insuring over 50 million Americans—has quietly become the nation’s largest employer of doctors, wielding its immense market power to exploit the health care system for profit.
The Colossus series was a finalist for the national magazine award in the “public interest category.’’
The citation read: With engaging writing, brilliant portraiture and accessible videos, STAT consistently demonstrated the importance of public-health reporting in 2024. This year, STAT uncovered the ongoing tragedy of sickle-cell patients pressured into sterilization; relentlessly documented the way UnitedHealth Group gobbled up healthcare providers to create a vast network of profit-maximizing patient mills; and showcased a life-saving solution hiding in plain sight in an exposé on medical opioid treatments.
“As we approach our 10th birthday at STAT, we are humbled by this recognition, which is a testament to the brilliant reporting, writing, and multimedia journalism across our enterprise,’’ said Rick Berke, co-founder and executive editor. “As shockwaves from Washington rattle the world of health and science, STAT’s tough-minded and authoritative reporting from D.C., around the country, and in Europe is more essential than ever.”
The National Magazine Awards are sponsored by American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Originally limited to print magazines, the awards now honor magazine storytelling published in any print or digital medium.
This recognition is the latest in a string of prestigious awards for STAT. Just last week, the “Colossus’’ series team was presented with the George W. Polk award, and STAT was awarded a general excellence citation from SABEW, Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing “Best in Business” Awards.
Contact: Carla Kath, Director of Communications, [email protected]
About STAT
Founded in 2015, STAT is a digital media company that focuses on delivering fast, deep, and tough-minded journalism about health, medicine and the life sciences. STAT takes you inside academic labs, biotech boardrooms, and political backrooms, casting a critical eye on scientific discoveries, scrutinizing corporate strategies, and chronicling the roiling battles for talent, money, and market share. With an award-winning newsroom, STAT provides indispensable insights and exclusive stories on the technologies, personalities, power brokers, and political forces driving massive changes in the life sciences industry — and a revolution in human health.
STAT has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist and has won a number of prestigious journalism prizes.
STAT is affiliated with Boston Globe Media, and its headquarters is in Boston. It also has reporters in Washington, D.C., New York City, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, and Minneapolis.