Raw Story journalists win four 2024 Folio Awards for investigative reporting

Raw Story journalists have won four 2024 Folio Awards for their investigative reporting on politics, government and extremism, the Fair Media Council announced today at its annual luncheon on Long Island, N.Y.

Raw Story awardees include:

• Investigative reporter Mark Alesia won the Sean. A. Fanelli Award for education news for his chilling tale about an Indiana school administrator who became the subject of death threats and national ridicule after a conservative nonprofit and Fox News teamed up to "unfairly and inaccurately" thrust her into the crucible of "culture war cruelty." Folio Award judges wrote that Alesia's report earned "high marks for relevance" and is a "well-rounded examination of the issue."
• Editor-in-chief Dave Levinthal and congressional correspondent Matt Laslo took top honors in the public policy news category for a data-driven deep dive that revealed how the Senate Ethics Committee had failed to punish any of its Senate colleagues during its last 1,523 tries. "The topic and investigative approach to the data earned this story high marks," judges wrote.
• Investigative reporter Alexandria Jacobson and Levinthal won in the enterprise news category for their "Lawmakers, Law Breakers" series that revealed how 37 members of the current Congress last year violated a federal law designed to stop insider trading, curb financial conflicts of interest and enhance public transparency. (The number this year has grown to 46 members.) "Great topic," judges wrote.
• Investigative reporter Jordan Green won in the January 6 coverage category for his "Our Best Face" series, which revealed how "peaceful" pro-Trump rally organizers cultivated ties to violent extremists in the weeks before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. "Exhaustive coverage of a seminal event in American history" and "great investigative reporting," judges wrote. Last year, Green became the first journalist in Raw Story's history to win a Folio Award, doing so for his investigative reporting on extremism.

The Fair Media Council, one of the nation's oldest nonprofit news consumer advocacy organizations, describes the annual Folio Awards as "the gold standard for recognizing the best in news and social media."

"Winning four Folio Awards is an incredible honor, and it's a testament to the quality and impact of Raw Story's investigative journalism," Raw Story publisher Roxanne Cooper said.

The Folio Awards come during a year when Raw Story has been widely recognized for its investigative and explanatory journalism.

In April, Jacobson won the Sidney Award for her report on the shambolic state of the U.S. Postal Service's police force amid spikes in mail theft and assault on carriers. Editor & Publisher magazine named Raw Story the best news and political blog of 2023. Other recent honors include a Best in Business Award from the Society Advancing Business Editing and Writing and an ION Award for investigative journalism.

Founded in 2004, and now celebrating its 20th anniversary, Raw Story is America’s largest independently-owned political news site.

Last year, Raw Story significantly expanded its investigative and original reporting team. Hires include Levinthal, Jacobson and Alesia, as well as Executive Editor Adam Nichols, Assistant Managing Editor Kathleen Culliton, Night Editor David McAfee and Senior Editor Daniel Hampton.