BMJ journalism on food industry, obesity care, and doctor suicide honoured at prestigious awards

BMJ journalists won three awards at the 2025 Medical Journalists’ Association (MJA) Awards on the 17 September, including for investigative reporting and mental health journalism.

The MJA Awards shine a spotlight on the best in health and medical journalism across the UK, and the work of writers, editors and broadcasters.

Jennifer Richardson, Investigations and Senior Features Editor, was named Editor of the Year for a special investigative series into children and food, which revealed industry ties to government diet guidance, food companies’ infiltration of schools, and sharp tactics used by fast food giant McDonalds to roll out new branches.

Judges said the series uncovered “powerful and compelling new angles on well-covered topics.”

Elisabeth Mahase, Careers Editor, won News Story of the Year (Specialist Audience) for her “thoughtful and well-researched” investigation into obesity services in England.

She found that access to comprehensive weight loss services are being restricted by cash poor local services, with many patients being denied specialist drugs, surgery, and support.

Adele Waters, a The BMJ freelance journalist, received the Mental Health Story of the Year award for her coverage of doctor suicide. Her story, featuring testimonies from clinicians and a focus on workplace pressures, was praised for its nuanced reporting, which avoided simplification.

BMJ’s journalists also had multiple finalists at the awards: Margaret McCartney and Deborah Cohen for their highly critical look at the Galleri blood test; Hristio Boytchev, Natalie Widmann and Simon Wörpel for their investigation into medical research funded by the fossil fuel industry;  Katharine Lang, a BMJ contributor, for her popular explainer piece about covid‑19’s effects on the gut; and Rebecca Coombes for an investigation into an unethical infant feeding pilot funded by a leading formula company.

MJA chair Shaun Lintern, health editor of the Sunday Times, said the awards “remind us of the value of our craft: to hold power to account, to tell difficult truths, and to make health and medicine accessible and human.”