Tradeoffs has earned national accolades, earning a first-place National Headliner Award and three Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism from the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) for 2024 coverage of health policy issues. The award-winning topics ranged from end-of-life care to the generic drug industry.
“These awards mean a lot to us,” said Dan Gorenstein, founder and executive editor of Tradeoffs. “It’s a privilege to share these important stories, and I’m deeply proud of our team’s dedication to strong narratives and rigorous journalism.”
Tradeoffs won first place from the National Headliner Awards’ in the Digital Conversational Podcast category for “She Didn’t Want to Die. But She Didn’t Want to Suffer,” an interview with author and journalist Steven Petrow about his sister’s decision to use medical aid in dying.
The judges praised the episode as a “very strong choice of interview on a very difficult and nuanced topic.”
Tradeoffs also earned three Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, the annual awards presented by the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ).
Honors included second place in the Audio Reporting category (small newsroom division), for “One Doctor’s Quest to Improve Health Care for People with Disabilities.” This was one of two awards the AHCJ gave to Tradeoffs senior reporter/producer Leslie Walker, who also received honorable mention in the Business category for “Race to the Bottom,” her three-part series examining the problems that undermine the generic drug industry.
Another three-part series from Tradeoffs — “The Fifth Branch,” — received third place in the Audio Reporting category (large newsroom division). The series, a collaboration between Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project, examines what happens when a big city like Durham, N.C. dramatically changes how it responds to people in crisis. Instead of sending police, Durham sends unarmed mental health workers to 911 calls that involve mental illness and addiction.
The annual Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism recognize the “best health reporting in print, broadcast and online media,” honoring reporting across 14 categories.
View a full list of this year’s National Headliner Awards winners and AHCJ honorees.