Media Award Previous Recipients
2023: Christine Herman
Christine Herman is a journalist with more than a decade of experience covering issues such as mental health, access to health care, and science for both broadcast and digital audiences. She’s the managing editor of Side Effects Public Media, a regional health reporting collaboration based at WFYI in Indianapolis and involving NPR stations across the Midwest. In her prior role as a health reporter at Illinois Public Media, Christine reported extensively on children's mental health, access to health care for vulnerable populations and other public health issues, reaching national audiences as a contributor to NPR and KFF Health News.
In 2023, Christine’s story for the Center for Public Integrity illuminated a heartbreaking issue, showing how a lack of access to comprehensive children’s mental health services literally tears families apart. The solutions-focused piece served as the flagship story for the Carter Center Mental Health Parity Collaborative in its inaugural year. Christine serves on the board of the Association of Health Care Journalists and is a 2018-19 Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism fellow. She earned her Ph.D. in chemistry and master's in journalism from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Christine lives in Champaign, Illinois, with her husband and three children.
2023: Untold: Breaking Point
Mardy Fish and Directors Chapman Way and Maclain Way and Executive Producers Chapman Way, Maclain Way, Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Isabel San Vargas, Ryan Duffy, Miguel Tamayo, and Jaymee Messler for Netflix's Untold: Breaking Point.
The story of Mardy Fish’s foray into tennis chronicles his training at the famed Saddlebrook Academy as a teen, his brotherhood and constant competition with comrade Andy Roddick, and his inability to find major success like his predecessors, the American tennis icons of the 80s and 90s: John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, and Andre Agassi. In 2010, Fish got himself into the best shape of his life and emerged on the ATP tour as a force to be reckoned with, scaling the heights of the World Tour Finals in 2011 as the top seeded American player. Soon after, his anxiety began to swell and Fish tried to push through the mental strain at the 2012 US Open quarterfinals against Roger Federer. But an encroaching sense of dread and anguish was worsening by the day and everything came to a crashing halt. Fish bowed out of the match and was later diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder. As the number one ranked American male tennis player, he shockingly quit tennis and over the course of the next few years he largely disappeared from the public, staying in his house for months at a time. After seeking professional help, he worked through his trauma and went public with his struggles to help destigmatize anxiety and provide other athletes a model to follow when dealing with their own mental health issues. Fish has since become the US Davis Cup coach and describes his anxiety as, “A daily battle, but I win every day.”
2023: ABC30: "A Critical State of Mind"
It's time to have real conversations about our mental health. ABC30 presents "A Critical State of Mind," a five-part documentary series taking a deep look at the state of mental health in California, inside the lives of those who suffer, the stigma associated with mental illness, organizations making a difference and those standing up to give hope.
2023: Renee Shaw
Renee Shaw is the Director of Public Affairs and Moderator at KET, currently serving as host of KET’s weeknight public affairs program Kentucky Edition, the signature public policy discussion series Kentucky Tonight, the weekly interview series Connections, Election coverage and KET Forums. Since 2001, Renee has been the producing force behind KET’s legislative coverage that has been recognized by the Kentucky Associated Press and the National Educational Telecommunications Association. Under her leadership, KET has expanded its portfolio of public affairs content to include a daily news and information program, Kentucky Supreme Court coverage, townhall-style forums, and multi-platform program initiatives around issues such as opioid addiction and youth mental health.
As an award-winning journalist, Renee has earned top awards from the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, with three regional Emmy awards, and Kentucky Associated Press honors for public affairs programming. In 2018, KET earned a national media award from Mental Health America for its multi-dimensional content on the opioid epidemic shepherded by Shaw. That same year, she co-produced and moderated a 6-part series on youth mental health that was awarded first place in educational content by NETA, the National Educational Telecommunications Association.
2023: Morra Aarons-Mele with The Anxious Achiever Podcast
Morra Aarons-Mele knows that taking your mental health seriously is a leadership strength. She launched and hosts The Anxious Achiever podcast for LinkedIn Presents, which was a 2020 Webby Awards Honoree, and is a top 10 management podcast and top 50 business podcast. She's passionate about helping people rethink the relationship between their mental health and their success. Her book, The Anxious Achiever: Turn Your Biggest Fears into Your Leadership Superpower, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in April 2023. Morra speaks to and consults frequently with Fortune 500 companies, startups, and U.S Government agencies. She is a 2022 LinkedIn "Top 10 Voice" in mental health.
Morra Aarons-Mele is an entrepreneur and communications executive. In addition to her work in workplace mental health, Aarons-Mele founded the award-winning social impact agency Women Online and created its database of female influencers, the Mission List, which she sold in 2021. Morra was named 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year at the Iris Awards, created to recognize excellence among digital content creators. Before starting her own business, Morra worked in digital marketing and politics, helping Hillary Clinton log on for her first online chat and founding the digital public affairs team at Edelman, where she worked with Fortune 50 clients.
2022: Well Beings & Hiding In Plain Sight
MHA's 2022 Media Award recognizes journalists, authors, digital platforms, media outlets, television shows and filmmakers that have tackled the issues of mental illness and addiction – and in doing so, have educated, informed, and broken down stigma and shame around these issues.
MHA is awarding the Media Award to Well Beings & Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness (executive producer Ken Burns, directors and co-producers Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, WETA SVP and chief national content officer John Wilson, and WETA executive producer, special projects, Tom Chiodo) for their two-part, four-hour film. The film is part of Well Beings, a national campaign from public media to demystify and destigmatize physical and mental health through storytelling.
2022: Catherine Pearson & Lindsay Holmes
MHA’s 2022 Media Award recognizes journalists, authors, digital platforms, media outlets, television shows and filmmakers that have tackled the issues of mental illness and addiction – and in doing so, have educated, informed, and broken down stigma and shame around these issues.
MHA is awarding the Media Award to journalists Lindsay Holmes and Catherine Pearson for their article, “If You Have A Mood Disorder, You May Now Be Eligible For A COVID Booster” for the HuffPost.
Catherine Pearson is a reporter for the Well section at The New York Times. Previously she was a senior reporter at HuffPost, where she spent 11 years covering health and parenting. Catherine grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, and received her B.A. in English from N.Y.U. and a M.A. in journalism from Columbia. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two sons and a pandemic puppy, Annie.
Lindsay Holmes is the Senior Wellness & Travel Editor at HuffPost, where she oversees the health and travel content for HuffPost Life. She was selected for a National Press Foundation mental health fellowship in 2016 and has moderated multiple panels on mental health. She's passionate about how the media can responsibly cover mental illness and has consulted on professional guidelines for reporting on suicide.
2022: WBIR
MHA’s 2022 Media Award recognizes journalists, authors, digital platforms, media outlets, television shows and filmmakers that have tackled the issues of mental illness and addiction – and in doing so, have educated, informed, and broken down stigma and shame around these issues.
MHA is awarding the Media Award to the WBIR Newsroom & Production Team for WBIR’s Mental Health Monday, which was born out of seeing a need that has always been in existence but abruptly took a front seat in so many people's lives in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. WBIR partnered with the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee to produce a series of Mental Health Monday segments that aired within their evening newscasts and developed a multi-platform cross discipline campaign. All content and messaging focused on removing stigma, educating on how to manage mental health issues and encouraging free screenings.
2021: Ginny & Georgia
MHA’s 2021 Media Award recognizes television shows, journalists, and filmmakers that tackle the issues of mental illness and addiction – and in doing so, educate, inform, and break down stigma around these issues.
Netflix Original Series Ginny & Georgia received the 2021 Media Award for responsibly approaching the issue of self-harm and portraying excellent peer-to-peer conversations about mental health. Showrunner and Executive Producer Debra J. Fisher and Creator and Executive Producer Sarah Lampert will accept on behalf of the show.
2021: Sheri Jones
MHA’s 2021 Media Award recognizes television shows, journalists, and filmmakers that tackle the issues of mental illness and addiction – and in doing so, educate, inform, and break down stigma around these issues.
Sheri Jones is an award-winning journalist who currently anchors the 6 and 11 o’clock news for CBS Affiliate WLNS TV6 in Lansing, Michigan. She received the 2021 Media Award for three in-depth features, four to five times longer than the typical television news segment, highlighting the lived experiences of notable Michiganders and evoking great emotion in the process.
2021: Mohamed Abdi
MHA’s 2021 Media Award recognizes television shows, journalists, and filmmakers that tackle the issues of mental illness and addiction – and in doing so, educate, inform, and break down stigma around these issues.
Mohamed Abdi, community leader and filmmaker, received the 2021 Media Award for his documentary, “Surviving The Movement,” a story of how global, national, and local events are connected to our personal mental health.
2020: Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Sesame is present in more than 150 countries, providing almost two hundred million children with access to life-changing early education, critical health lessons, and helpful tools to build resilience from tough situations. Their Social Impacts Initiatives educate people worldwide about a host of issues that impact children's mental health, including traumatic experiences, autism, gender equality, and helping military children and families thrive when parents are deployed. Most recently, Sesame has created content to help children and families deal with the uncertainty of COVID-19 and teamed up with CNN to discuss racism, trauma and how families can build empathy and embrace diversity.
2020: Hannah Dreier
Hannah Dreier, a journalist with The Washington Post shares with readers the different shapes childhood trauma takes and the importance of mental health care for young immigrants, by showing the role therapy played for one traumatized Honduran teenager in immigration detention. The story was the first to explore the kind of therapy migrant children are given in detention. It also broke news about how those therapy notes are used. The reporting had instant impact, with legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, an internal federal audit, and policy changes in migrant child shelter therapy rooms around the country. Hannah's work revealed that the U.S government was requiring detained migrant children to attend therapy, and then sharing the things they tell therapists with ICE, to be used against them in court. The piece told the story of on the case of Kevin Euceda, a teenager who confided in a therapist at a migrant child shelter, and now faces deportation as a result. The piece made the trauma of one young migrant real to readers across the country and was one of the most read in the Washington Post for days, with more than a million readers.
2020: Lift the Mask: Portraits of Life with Mental Illness
Lift the Mask: Portraits of Life with Mental Illness is a documentary by The Quell Foundation. The film reveals and addresses systemic problems with social and cultural stigma, and the challenges associated with gaining access to effective treatment. The film captures six individuals from a variety of backgrounds, living with different mental health diagnoses, who, in recounting their own experiences, speak directly to these issues. The film addresses how the criminal justice system is ill-prepared and under-resourced to manage the mental health of their population of people and sheds light on the difficulty of finding and maintaining medications that work once achieving access to proper and timely treatment. Several of the film's subjects speak directly to the deleterious effects associated with a severe shortage of mental health care providers. Each story shares how the acceptance and understanding of a loved one, often a parent or partner, is one of the most crucial and challenging aspects of proper care for someone struggling with mental illness.
2020: KXAN-TV (Austin)
KXAN-TV (Austin) knew that Texas health experts estimated one in six students is significantly affected by mental illness. Many drop out of school, wind through the juvenile justice system, even end their own lives. Away from home, schools are often where these mental health concerns arise. As state leaders aim to tackle this critical campus safety issue, KXAN decided to explore potential solutions across Texas and beyond by creating the Save our Students initiative. The station created a multi-page digital project, featuring more than 40 stories that were also shared with other Nexstar stations in Texas online. KXAN utilized Facebook Live and digital chats on kxan.com to explain the project and take questions from viewers. More than 50 KXAN staff members worked on the project in some way, including the seven reporters and five photographers behind the stories. The team traveled across the country – including California, Ohio and all over Texas – to report these solutions-oriented stories. This project launched as a partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network, which provided guidance and feedback over the course of the eight months it took to complete.
2020: WSOC-TV (Charlotte)
WSOC-TV (Charlotte), led by Executive Kim Holt and anchor Erica Bryant, committed to telling the community impact of mental illness across its 22-county viewing area. The station developed an hour-long prime time television special focused on mental health entitled “Charlotte’s Hidden Crisis.” The live broadcast featured pre-recorded vignettes featuring individuals and families discussing what it’s like to live with a mental health diagnosis, suicide attempts and loss, and the challenge associated with seeking mental health services. The station also developed a printed and online resource guide that featured mental health resources. To ensure that viewers connected to these services, the station hosted a live phone bank that was staffed by local mental health advocates and clinicians. Call bank volunteers answered over 700 calls from Spanish and English-speaking callers on the day of the broadcast. The station also began working on a second Charlotte’s Hidden Crisis live broadcast for December 2019. This live broadcast focused on veteran’s mental health, normalizing therapy, social media and mental health, the stigma of medication, and the signs of suicide. WSOC-TV made a commitment to use appropriate non-stigmatizing language and accurate data when reporting on deaths by suicide and mental health overall. They continue to be advocates for using their influence to educate their viewers about mental health and wellness.
2019: Amazon Studios
MHA's 2019 Media Award recognized Amazon Studios for its feature film, Beautiful Boy, a powerful and emotional film about drug addiction starring Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney, and Amy Ryan.
2019: Roger Weisberg
MHA's 2019 Media Award recognized documentary filmmaker Roger Weisberg for his film, Broken Places, that dives into the complex question of why some children are severely impacted by early adversity while others are able to thrive.
2019: ABC Television
MHA's 2019 Media Award recognized ABC Television for its show, A Million Little Things, which centers around a close circle of friends who must come to terms with a friend's suicide. The show masterfully weaves in content that addresses depression, therapy, grief, and the intersection of physical illness and mental health.
2019: The Egg Gang
MHA's 2019 Media Award recognized The Egg Gang, for its Instagram account @world_record_egg, which became a global phenomenon and an internet sensation within days of its creation. With millions following the account, the creators chose a big reveal to shine a light on the importance of mental health.
2019: Deseret News
MHA's 2019 Media Award recognized Deseret News, for its series Generation Vexed, a year-long series out of Utah that examined why teens are more anxious than ever and how families and communities can help.
2019: WBFO-FM and Eileen Buckley
MHA's 2019 Media Award recognized WBFO-FM and lead journalist Eileen Buckley for their two-year Mental Health Initiative project, which provided in-depth coverage of mental health issues and helped build the mental health literacy of its community.
2018: Playing Hurt: My Journey from Despair to Hope
MHA's 2018 Media Award recognized the Da Capo Press and New York Times best-selling book, Playing Hurt: My Journey from Despair to Hope, authored by the late John Saunders with John U. Bacon. In Saunders's own words before his passing: "Playing Hurt is not an autobiography of a sports celebrity but a memoir of a man facing his own mental illness, and emerging better off for the effort. I will take you into the heart of my struggle with depression, including insights into some of its causes, its consequences, and its treatments."
2018: 13 Reasons Why
MHA's 2018 Media Award recognized Netflix Original Series, 13 Reasons Why, for elevating the dialogue across the county between parents, students, and mental health advocates on the epidemic of teen suicide, depression, and bullying.
2018: Suicide: The Ripple Effect
MHA's 2018 Media Award recognized the documentary Suicide: The Ripple Effect, by filmmakers Kevin Hines and Greg Dicharry. The film highlights the journey of Kevin Hines, who at age 19, attempted to take his life by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. Today Kevin is a world-renowned mental health advocate, motivational speaker, and author who travels the globe spreading a message of hope, recovery, and wellness.
2018: The Players' Tribune
MHA's 2018 Media Award recognized the online platform The Players' Tribune, a new media company that provides athletes with a platform to connect directly with their fans, in their own words. This past year, TPT focused a great deal on mental health issues, highlighting raw and personal stories from the NBA's Kevin Love, Channing Frye, and Keyon Dooling, and the NHL's Ben Scrivens, Corey Hirsch, Clint Malarchuk, and more.
2018: Kentucky Education Television (KET)
MHA's 2018 Media Award recognized Kentucky Education Television (KET) for "Inside Opioid Addiction," an ongoing, multi-faceted program to bust stigma, strengthen understanding, and facilitate a recovery-focused revolution in opioid addiction.
2018: Las Cruces Sun-News, NMPolitics.net, and KRWG TV-Radio
MHA's 2018 Media Award recognized the public-private collaboration of the Las Cruces Sun-News, NMPolitics.net, and KRWG TV-Radio for its multi-media project called "Distressed: A Look at Behavioral Health in Southern New Mexico."
2017: Netflix and One Day at a Time
MHA's 2017 Media Award recognized Netflix and its remake of One Day at a Time for shining an important light on depression and post-traumatic stress.
2017: Ben Selkow
MHA's 2017 Media Award recognized documentary filmmaker Ben Selkow for BURIED ABOVE GROUND, a film that explores the harrowing stories of three Americans living with the burdens of PTSD.
2017: Jaclyn Cosgrove
MHA's 2017 Media Award recognized journalist Jaclyn Cosgrove from The Oklahoman for her year-long series Epidemic Ignored.
2017: Gemma Correll
MHA's 2017 Media Award recognized illustrator Gemma Correll for her impactful depictions of life with mental illness.
2017: David Solomon
MHA's 2017 Media Award recognized David Solomon, Executive Producer at Pittsburgh PBS affiliate WQED, for his years of work developing compelling documentaries, including most recently Before Stage 4: Confronting Early Psychosis.
2016: The Honorable Patrick Kennedy
The Honorable Patrick Kennedy is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the son of the late Senator Edward Kennedy. His book, A Common Struggle, tells his personal story of “coming out” about suffering from bipolar disorder and addiction, his long journey to recovery, and his reflections on the current state of America’s mental health care system. During his 16-year career representing Rhode Island in Congress, he fought a national battle to end medical and societal discrimination against these illnesses, highlighted by his lead sponsorship of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008—and his brave openness about his own health challenges. He is the founder of the Kennedy Forum, which unites the community of mental health, and co-founded One Mind for Research, a global leader in open science collaboration in brain research.
2016: Mom
Mom is an American sitcom on CBS. The series was created by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky, and Gemma Baker. It stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney in lead roles as mother/daughter duo Christy and Bonnie Plunkett. Both characters are in recovery from drug and alcohol use, and the show has become a standout for its efforts in tackling heavy storylines few others explore, including struggles with sobriety, addiction, substance abuse, and relapse. In addition to capturing the truths of substance use, mental health, and recovery, Mom and CBS are going the extra mile to educate the public about addiction, most recently joining with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on an addiction PSA.
2016: You're the Worst
You're the Worst is a romantic comedy on FXX Network from writer and executive producer Stephen Falk. Starring Aya Cash and Chris Geere, it’s the story of self-destructive PR executive Gretchen and self-involved writer Jimmy. In the second season, it is revealed that Gretchen is suffering from clinical depression. A difficult topic for a comedy, You're the Worst shines a light on clinical depression boldly and authentically while still keeping the show funny. It has been heralded by many as the most accurate portrayal of clinical depression on television to date.
2016: Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sarasota Herald-Tribune and reporter Carrie Seidman tackled a topic many do not understand this year: schizophrenia. In "The S Word: The Stigma of Schizophrenia," the newspaper looked at the disease in a way the media rarely does—from the inside out and the people living with it every day. In a multi-part project, Ms. Seidman highlights not just the shame and stigma surrounding the disease but also herself—as the mother of Keaton, a man living with schizophrenia. In addition to her story, readers hear from other individuals and families and are educated about the misconceptions and myths surrounding the disease.
2015: Yochi Dreazen
MHA's 2015 Media Award was presented to journalist Yochi Dreazen. Yochi Dreazen is the managing editor for news at Foreign Policy and author of The Invisible Front: Love and Loss in an Era of Endless War. The book chronicles the compelling story of Major General (ret.) Mark Graham and his wife Carol as they faced unimaginable tragedy after losing two sons—one to suicide and one to combat. The book brings to light not only the tragedy of suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder throughout the military, but also the evolution of how the institution and its leaders are dealing with this crisis.
2015: Outside the Lines
MHA's 2015 Media Award was presented to ESPN's program Outside the Lines. ESPN's Outside the Lines story in 2014 of College Athletes and Mental Health: Sasha's Story drew attention to the tragic suicide of University of Missouri swimmer Sasha Menu Courey and her unanswered cries for help to University of Missouri officials. ESPN shared the story of Sasha—a beautiful and talented swimmer who battled mental health issues and ultimately took her own life when she couldn't find the help she needed.
2015: NBC4
MHA's 2015 Media Award was presented to NBC4. NBC4, the Washington, DC NBC affiliate, spent 2014 discussing the issues surrounding mental health through its year-long Changing Mind series. Led by anchor Doreen Gentzler, the campaign has drawn significant attention to the needs of those struggling with mental health issues and continues to provide education and information on various mental health topics.