The Marshall Project, in partnership with Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, has been honored with a top national journalism award recognizing excellence in health care reporting.
Reporter Shoshana Walter, producer Marianne McCune and editor Jenny Casas received first place in the Audio Reporting (large division) category from the Association of Health Care Journalists for their in-depth audio story examining the fallout of a flawed drug testing system widely used across U.S. hospitals. The investigation centered on women who were reported to child welfare authorities as a result of positive drug tests, including a mother who lost custody of her newborn after consuming a poppy seed salad, which triggered a false-positive test result for opiates — raising urgent questions about medical practices and systemic harm.
In addition to the online article, The Marshall Project partnered with Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX to produce a podcast episode from the reporting. Listen to the award-winning story’s episode here.
The award, part of AHCJ’s prestigious Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, celebrates work that informs the public and holds institutions accountable. The Marshall Project’s collaboration with Reveal and PRX reflects our shared commitment to uncovering the human consequences of flawed systems, particularly within the justice and health care spheres.
“This story exemplifies the kind of work we strive to produce — deeply reported, revelatory and focused on the people most affected by systemic failure,” said Geraldine Sealey, acting editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project. “We’re honored to see our team’s collaboration recognized by the AHCJ.”
“The Fifth Branch,” which is a special podcast series by Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project’s Christie Thompson, examined what it looks like when one community dramatically changes how it responds to people in crisis. It was also a third-place winner in the audio reporting category.
The awards will be formally presented at AHCJ’s annual Health Journalism conference on May 31 in Los Angeles.
