The Appeal Wins LION Publishers’ Journalistic Impact Award

The Appeal was honored with the Journalistic Impact Award at the LION Publishers’ Sustainability Awards in Chicago.

In the past year, The Appeal’s journalism has had an immense impact on institutions, communities, and individuals impacted by the criminal legal system.

A six-month investigation by Senior Reporter Meg O’Connor into the Phoenix policing killing of Jacob Harris led to the creation of community coalitions and lawmakers introducing two bills to try to repeal felony murder. 

Following Senior Reporter Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg’s relentless coverage of dangerous and inhumane conditions inside jails in Georgia, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff launched a Senate Human Rights Subcommittee investigation into several jails. Ossoff also cited our reporting in a letter to the U.S. Attorney General requesting a Department of Justice investigation into Clayton County Jail in the same month that state senators announced an investigation into Fulton County Jail. Weill-Greenberg’s reporting on medical care in Massachusetts prisons also led to a man being fitted with a front tooth after losing it three years earlier.

“The Appeal effectively demonstrates its impact through specific examples of policy changes driven by its reporting and journalism co-created with the communities it serves, including incarcerated people,” wrote the judges. 

“Most notably, The Appeal has a clear framework for defining and measuring its impact. Its Impact Report should be a model for other newsrooms aiming to articulate how their mission translates into real-world outcomes for their communities.”

While at the LION Publishers’ Sustainability Summit, The Appeal’s Managing Editor Tara Francis Chan also convened a session on “Change from the top: How innovative ownership and leadership structures improve impact and productivity.”

Francis Chan spoke alongside Luke Baumgarten, founder of RANGE Media, and Mariann Martin, co-founder of Canopy Atlanta. She shared details of how we built a democratic decision-making process and our flexible and supportive culture.