MJA members have continued their award-winning run, with three members recognised across the industry this week.
The Independent’s Rebecca Thomas won health journalist of the year at The Press Awards for the second year running.
Stories that secured her award, include a year-long investigation into an NHS mental health nurse who police believe could be a serial rapist, which revealed shocking gaps in regulation and prompted two NHS hospitals to launch independent reviews.
She also uncovered a pattern of deaths at a children’s care provider that exposed a litany of failings and repeated, ignored warnings.
Another piece on the experience of an autistic man’s experience of living in unsuitable care homes has had remarkable impact. Nicholas Thornton regained his ability to speak as a result of Thomas’s reporting and with her help was able to tell his story for the first time in his own voice.
The judges’ said: “Rebecca’s work demonstrates what every journalist hopes to achieve: exposing wrongdoing, standing up for the most vulnerable in society to affect real-life impact and lasting change. It’s investigative reporting at its best.”
Science communication
The Harding Prize for Trustworthy Communication has also been awarded to the MJA’s very own Tom Whipple, science writer at The Times.
He won the General Public Audience Award at the 2025 Harding Prize for Trustworthy Communication for his article in The Times examining the continuing debate over the origins of Covid-19.
The Harding Prize celebrates communication that supports independent judgement — work that presents evidence carefully, acknowledges uncertainty honestly, and allows audiences to reach their own conclusions rather than steering them towards a predetermined view.
Judges praised Whipple’s article for tackling one of the most politically and scientifically contested topics of recent years with balance and rigour, clearly setting out the evidence for and against the leading theories surrounding the origins of Covid-19 while also being transparent about the limitations and uncertainties that remain.
Speaking after his win, Tom said: “I’m delighted to win this prize. Journalists are, like everyone, flawed, fallible and biased. I’m sure I get loads wrong, and that my opinion creeps in even when I flatter myself I’m being objective.
“So it’s such an honour to get this award, particularly for an article about Covid, which remains a contested, heated and most of all cross-subject.”
Women’s sport
And in a departure from her usual beat writing about health and medicine, MJA vice-chair Emma Wilkinson won the Vikki Orvice Award for Women’s Sports Writing at the Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards 2026.
Her book Ultra Women: The trailblazers defying sexism in sport, co-written with Lily Canter, explores fascinating tales of female achievement in endurance sport as well as taking a deep dive into sports science, psychology and barriers to entry.
“We were absolutely stunned to win but we’re delighted that these stories of women’s endurance prowess are now reaching a wider audience,” she said.