Raw Story wins 2023 'Best in Business' journalism award, earns two honorable mentions

Raw Story investigative reporter Alexandria Jacobson and Editor-in-Chief Dave Levinthal today won a 2023 Best in Business Award for their ongoing "Lawmakers, Law Breakers" series that's revealed how dozens of members of Congress have violated a federal law designed to stop insider trading and curb conflicts of interest.

The award, sponsored by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, comes in the contest's personal finance category.

Judges wrote of the "Lawmakers, Law Breakers" series: "In this well-executed investigation, Alexandria Jacobson and Dave Levinthal reveal that 37 members of Congress failed to properly disclose personal stock trades in just one year. Their dogged reporting effort raises important questions about the adequacy and policing of financial conflict-of-interest laws designed to give Americans confidence in their lawmakers’ impartiality."

Raw Story reporters also earned two honorable mentions in the 2023 Best in Business Awards.

Investigative reporter Mark Alesia received an honorable mention in the explanatory category for his "Monuments to Me" investigation about how former politicians use surplus campaign cash to bolster their legacies.

"The reporting includes sleuthing into under-reported public filings and holding political leaders accountable for their spending. It is a fascinating deep dive into how these leftover zombie funds are being used," judges wrote of Alesia's work.

Jacobson received an honorable mention in the government category for her "Losing Track" series, which revealed major weaknesses in the federal government's security clearance systems.

"This is an important but much overlooked and taken for granted area that calls for more scrutiny, especially given the new relevance with the investigations into former President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents," judges wrote of Jacobson's series.

Founded in 2004, Raw Story is America’s largest independently-owned political news site. In November, Editor & Publisher named Raw Story the "best news/political blog" of 2023.

Long known for its rapid-fire breaking news reports and commentary, Raw Story has significantly expanded its investigative and enterprise reporting team. Hires during the past year include Levinthal, Executive Editor Adam Nichols, Assistant Managing Editor Kathleen Culliton, Night Editor David McAfee and investigative reportersJacobson and Alesia.