Workforce Bags Second Straight Neal Award

Workforce won a Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for Senior Writer Rita Pyrillis’ in-depth look at employer-sponsored health care.

The article, “Health Care: A Real Fixer-Upper,” was recognized as Best Technical Content for a publication with $3 million to $7 million in revenue, and it represents the second consecutive Neal Award for the publication. Last year, Senior Editor Ed Frauenheim won for Best Single Article.

Pyrillis’ award was presented March 12 in New York at the 59th annual awards ceremony, which is sponsored by American Business Media. The Neal Awards are considered the most prestigious honor in business-to-business journalism.

“We are excited and honored that Workforce once again ranks among the best of the best in business media. Rita’s article in particular is a prime example of what excellent business media does – it takes a complex, changing and sometimes technical topic and distills it in a way that is both powerful and relatable,” says Mike Prokopeak, Workforce’s vice president and editorial director. “The Neal Awards are a direct recognition of the diligence, creativity and general excellence of our editors, writers and designers, and I am thrilled that they are being acknowledged for the work they do every day to serve our readers.”

In her piece, Pyrillis examines how employers are helping to rebuild the health care system through a variety of tools to manage costs and improve worker health.

“Rita’s package of stories was unique and timely, since so many employers are struggling with the question of how to implement health care reform while searching for ways to lower their costs,” says Rick Bell, Workforce’s managing editor. “There are a lot of alternatives employers can look at, and Rita explained them for our readers simply and in great detail.”

Besides Workforce, Pyrillis has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines, including the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and Crain’s Chicago Business. She joined Workforce in 2010. 

Workforce was also a finalist in three other categories: Best Subject-Related Series for its 90th anniversary content, Best Subject-Related Package for “Pressed & Stressed” and Best Single Issue (April 2012).

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