BetaKit took home two awards at SABEW Canada’s 10th Annual Best in Business Awards Monday night.
BetaKit received the 2023 award for General Excellence, Small Publication, while reporter Josh Scott received the Jeff Sanford Best Young Journalist Award.
“Holy shit, we won,” posted BetaKit editor-in-chief Douglas Soltys to social media.
BetaKit editor-in-chief Douglas Soltys dedicated the award to senior writer Charles Mandel, who passed away in 2023.
In his acceptance speech, Soltys chronicled the publication’s scrappy twelve-year journey and dedicated the award to BetaKit senior writer Charles Mandel, who passed away in 2023.
The annual awards recognize outstanding Canadian business reporting published and produced the year prior, in categories ranging from breaking news to multimedia and features.
BetaKit was recognized for General Excellence with a package of reporting that included breaking news, explanatory journalism, podcasts, and investigative work.
It featured Scott’s behind-the-scenes look at negotiations related to the annual Collision conference in Toronto, breaking news reporting by Soltys and Meagan Simpson on the impact of Silicon Valley Bank’s closure on Canadian companies, an explanatory feature from freelancer Kelsey Rolfe and Soltys on how liquidity issues facing limited partners were putting the squeeze on Canadian startups, and a podcast submission featuring a contentious interview with Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave.
“We could not be prouder of BetaKit’s work and the role we play in covering a vital element of the Canadian economy, while prototyping the future of Canadian business journalism,” BetaKit CEO Siri Agrell wrote in the publication’s submission letter.
Scott was also personally recognized for the key role he has played in building BetaKit into Canada’s leading publication for tech and innovation news, while cultivating his reputation as one of the most dogged and trusted names in Canadian tech journalism.
In a media release, SABEW Canada judges said: “Josh Scott proved that he has the right mix of journalism skills and sticktoitiveness to become one of the country’s top reporters.”
Less than four years into his professional journalism career, Josh has written more than 1,000 stories, assisted his colleagues in leading technology coverage, landed tons of big scoops and exclusives, and penned everything from breaking news to in-depth features and investigations.
In a credit to his character and reputation, Scott’s nomination was supported by a letter of endorsement from fellow technology reporter Sean Silcoff of The Globe and Mail.
“It was my pleasure,” Silcoff commented after the awards. “Now give that kid a raise.”
The SABEW Canada Best in Business Awards winners were named in more than 15 categories last night. The full list can be viewed here.