News Writer of the Year by Gatehouse Media

Justine Griffin was awarded the News Writer of the Year award for 2014 by Gatehouse Media, the parent company of the Herald-Tribune Media Group for the “Best of GateHouse 2014” awards, which included entries from newspapers across the media player’s hundreds of publications.

“Justine Griffin’s first-person report on egg harvesting is so different, so deep in detail, and such a good story that it alone pushes her to the top of a very competitive field. It’s a gutsy move to undergo a risky procedure and write about virtually every detail,” the judges said.

Third place in the projects category went to business writer Griffin for her first-person story about the pitfalls of egg donation, “The Cost of Life.”

Griffin also won second place for “Multimedia Journalist of the Year.”

The Cost of Life wins first place for general feature in 2014 Excellence-in-Features Awards

The Cost of Life won first place in a national 2014 Excellence-in-Features contest by the Society for Features Journalism today in the “general feature” division one category.

Judge’s comments: “This first-person, long-form narrative immediately s your attention. Plenty has been written about egg donation – the typical pieces about the cute college girls who are recruited to go through the process and the money they make. But this writer flipped it all on its ear and looked at the underbelly of a trend that sounds as though it can have only a happy ending but, in truth, can cause great physical harm. The author reminds us that this brave-new-world technology is not nearly as regulated as it should be – and that technology is not necessarily the answer to everyone’s prayers.”

The Cost of Life 2014 EPPY Finalist

The Cost of Life was a finalist for the 2014 EPPY for the “Best Innovation Project for a Website” category among several other national and international contestants. This new category recognizes creative thinkers and their quest to drive progress forward with innovation and originality. Judges will focus on projects that were successful communicating information, using new ideas and technology – and quality of execution. Projects could include videos, motion graphics, use of social media, augmented reality – anything that promotes the advancement of online.

 

Knight Science Journalism Review

Knight Science Journalism at MIT operates the KSJ Tracker, which featured a blurb about  The Cost of Life on June 24, 2014.

The review was written by Paul Raeborn, a media critic.

The Cost of Life is well worth your time. If it had run in the New York Times, it would be news across the country now, and we would be seeing Griffin interviewed by Charlie Rose. In the media capital here in New York City, where we’re accustomed to thinking that we know everything, it’s important to be reminded that good journalism can be done anywhere.”

Read the full review here.