Berkeley Scanner is a finalist for LION journalism awards

We are thrilled to announce that The Berkeley Scanner is a finalist in the 2023 LION Local Journalism Awards in the category of New LION Business of the Year in the micro revenue tier.

The Scanner was one of 74 independent news organizations selected as finalists across 10 award categories, LION announced Thursday. The winners will be announced at an awards banquet in October.

LION is the preeminent professional association for local independent online news (LION) publishers in the United States and Canada.

Meet the 74 finalists of the 2023 LION Local Journalism Awards - LION Publishers

LION Publishers is delighted to announce that 99 entries have been recognized as finalists of the 2023 LION Local Journalism Awards.

LION PublishersHayley Milloy, Samantha Matsumoto

"We received nearly 300 award submissions this year, and this record-breaking uptick is further proof that the independent news industry is flourishing," LION wrote in its announcement. "Though there were many extremely impressive submissions, yours stood out. Your excellent work is impactful, both in your community and in the independent journalism ecosystem as a whole."

For our application, The Scanner was allowed to put forward three stories published between June 30, 2022, and June 21, 2023, that represent our approach to covering Berkeley and the broader community.

Our selections included our coverage of Berkeley's worst shooting in decades, which took place in October shortly after we launched. We were the only news outlet at the scene and stayed on Telegraph Avenue for hours overnight to learn everything we could.

UPDATE: 1 dead, 3 wounded in shooting near UC Berkeley

One of the men was pronounced dead at Highland Hospital in Oakland, The Berkeley Scanner learned shortly before 8 a.m.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

We also submitted our coverage of the Alameda County district attorney's office and the historic transformation underway there.

Alameda County DA’s office sees resignations over ethical qualms

Charly Weissenbach said she’s not comfortable in the spotlight — but felt it was her duty to speak out.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Our final piece related to our coverage of Berkeley's biggest police scandal in decades.

Fired Berkeley cop leaks texts alleging bias, quotas

Officers said they were disappointed their union president had written the unprofessional messages, but deny having arrest quotas or illegal practices.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

We also shared some of our work highlighting police data and our ongoing coverage of the UC Berkeley skeleton, a story that continues to develop.

What happened to the human skeleton found at UC Berkeley?

The skeleton was found in a crawl space that had been boarded up and marked with an ominous message, a worker told The Scanner.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

It was a big challenge deciding what articles to enter, particularly as there have been so many important stories to cover in Berkeley and Alameda County since we launched.

As of this week, The Scanner has published more than 400 stories and more than 200 newsletters, and we have so much more exciting journalism in the works.

The New LION Business of the Year category recognizes a business founded since Jan. 1, 2022, "that exhibits, even in its very early stages, a clearly-defined commitment to working toward achieving sustainability through operational resilience, financial health, and journalistic impact."

We wish to thank our readers and, especially, our paying Scanner supporters — who now number nearly 1,100 members — and look forward to continuing to strengthen our news coverage and our business for years to come.

We also wish a very hearty congratulations to our fellow micro-tier finalists in the new business category — Planeta Venus, Spinning Forward, Twice As Good Media — as well as Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside, which are co-finalists for LION's Public Service Award for their creation of The Affordable Housing Guide.

Read more

On the Story: Emilie Raguso Covers Berkeley’s Crime Beat Like No One Else - Cal Alumni Association

When news first broke that a human skeleton was found hidden under a building on Berkeley’s Clark Kerr campus, Emilie Raguso was horrified.

Cal Alumni Association

A closer look: Crime in the East Bay

NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai spoke to Emilie Raguso who runs The Berkeley Scanner, an independent news source in the East Bay focusing on crime and safety about crime prevention.

NBC Bay Area