Berkeley Scanner wins 'Truth to Power' press freedom award

The Berkeley Scanner is honored to have won the "Truth to Power: Golden Sledgehammer" award from the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Scanner founder Emilie Raguso "stood up publicly against an attack on press freedom," SPJ NorCal wrote, when Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price turned her away from a news conference last year.

"Raguso bravely served the public and Price’s office a practical and important lesson in the First Amendment, and was ultimately welcomed to subsequent press events," organizers said.

"Raguso covered the incident on her news site, wrote op-eds and spoke out in regional media, and enlisted help from local and national press freedom groups to challenge the office’s denial of press access," SPJ NorCal wrote.

Since then, even more explosive allegations have come to light about the DA's office having hidden and destroyed public records related to Raguso's exclusion from the press conference. The Scanner has continued to follow the story.

In its announcement about the award recipients over the weekend, SPJ NorCal wrote that the "Truth to Power: Golden Sledgehammer" award was "named for bravery in the face of a brutish attack on its first awardee," San Francisco freelancer Bryan Carmody in 2019.

Carmody "successfully challenged an unlawful raid on his home, office and phones by San Francisco police wielding a sledgehammer and pickax," wrote SPJ NorCal, "an attack on press freedom and California’s shield law upholding the right of journalists to keep source identities and unpublished/unaired materials private."

Raguso was among eight journalists and news outlets recognized in the 39th annual James Madison Freedom of Information Awards from SPJ NorCal.

The awards also honor attorneys, elected officials, whistleblowers and private citizens who "made significant contributions to advancing freedom of information and expression in the spirit of James Madison, the creative force behind the First Amendment."

DA Pamela Price hit with discrimination, retaliation claims

Patti Lee says Price often made anti-Asian remarks and that the DA’s office illegally withheld records about The Scanner’s exclusion from a press event.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

First Amendment Coalition attorney and legal director David Loy, who advocated on behalf of The Scanner's First Amendment rights last year, won a James Madison Award in the legal counsel category for his "tireless work supporting open access in 2023," SPJ NorCal wrote.

Other winners include Julia Love and Davey Alba of Bloomberg News; Thadeus Greenson of the North Coast Journal; Jason Fagone and Daniel Lempres of the San Francisco Chronicle; and The San Jose Spotlight.

The winners will be honored at a ceremony next month.

Read about all of the winners on the SPJ NorCal website. Read more First Amendment coverage on The Berkeley Scanner.