Today: The Berkeley Scanner celebrates 1 year in business
This has unquestionably been the most challenging, satisfying and thrilling year of my professional career.
The Berkeley Scanner is celebrating its 1-year anniversary today, Sept. 29. It's hard to believe it's already been a year.
From the very beginning, it's been busy with so many stories that there hasn't been much time to reflect.
What I can say without hesitation is that I'm grateful every day to be doing this work and to have such strong community support as I cover these critical issues.
This has unquestionably been the most challenging, satisfying and thrilling year of my professional career.
When I first started thinking about making this leap, I really just wanted to take a stab at finding a sustainable way to do the work I wanted to do — on my own terms until I could retire.
I could not have predicted the challenges our community is now facing in terms of rising crime and different types of crime than we've ever seen before, at least over the past 20 years that I've been here.
There's always more to do but I'm so proud of what we've all accomplished — this is a team effort, after all. And I'm incredibly excited to keep growing and deepening the coverage for years into the future.
People often ask me how it's going and the truth is that this past year has exceeded any expectations I might have had.
That's not only because of the stories I've had the honor of writing and the people I've met through those stories, but very much also due to the hugely supportive response from so many readers throughout Berkeley and Alameda County.
There are many more stories in the pipeline too, from Berkeley crime trends and police staffing to updates on the DA recall effort and continuing in-depth coverage of significant court cases.
Despite largely being a one-person operation, The Scanner regularly breaks news and scoops the competition, helping raise awareness about issues that would not otherwise be covered or where answers would take much longer to come out.
The Scanner has also worked hard to share your stories to show how crime has affected you and your neighbors this year.
It's certainly not all about the numbers, but there are some fun ones to share.
- The Berkeley Scanner now averages about 250,000 pageviews a month.
- TBS has published more than 460 stories, including 70 deep dives.
- As of this week, The Scanner has nearly 1,200 members.
If you'd like to join them, consider signing up monthly or making a one-time gift to celebrate our 1-year anniversary.
Thank you all for your deep support this past year, from your tips to your contributions to your reminders that I need to take time for myself and step away from the screen now and then.
On that note: Next week, I'm heading to North Carolina for the annual LION news publishers awards: The Scanner is a finalist in the new business category, which reflects both editorial coverage and business sustainability.
Then I'll spend a few days with family and friends on the East Coast.
I'll be back in full force Tuesday, Oct. 10, but, in the meantime, coverage will be light.
Thank you all, again. This past year could not have happened without you.
