We’re launching a new local news site, Albany Scanner, to report on Albany’s most vital stories — which currently go uncovered.

But we can’t do it alone.

Please help us jumpstart this effort by making a direct gift today!

We need to raise $50,000 by April 30 so we can start to publish stories. 

• All the money we raise in the "Bring News Back to Albany" campaign will go toward reporting and reporting alone
• After we reach this target, we’ll bring on professional freelancers and start to publish stories as we build our sustainable newsroom through monthly memberships
• Our ultimate plan is to hire a dedicated reporter who will live and breathe Albany news once we hit 500 monthly members

But we’ll say it again: We can’t get there without you.

If you believe Albany deserves independent, unbiased news coverage, consider becoming a Sustaining Member today.

Any amount helps, and we have special instructions for those interested in making a major gift of $1,000 or more.

All gifts will be crucial as we build community support to get Albany Scanner off the ground.

Questions? Email fundraising@albanyscanner.com.

Thank you,

Albany Scanner publisher Emilie Raguso (The Berkeley Scanner, Albany Patch, Berkeleyside) and your neighbors at Albany News Project

P.S. Please join us today in giving as generously as you can to the "Bring News Back to Albany" campaign. Many thanks!

But the site is fortunate to have the dedicated backing of Albany News Project, a volunteer group of residents and professional journalists who are committed to supporting a local news site that is timely, credible, informative and unbiased.

Albany News Project will serve as an advisory group for Albany Scanner, offering input on community needs and interests throughout the year.

Albany News Project will also provide energy and organization for ongoing fundraising, helping develop events and build relationships with supporters in a variety of ways.

As a primary force helping to ensure Albany Scanner's longterm sustainability, Albany News Project will also receive financial reports on a regular basis.

The advisory group will not engage in news gathering or direct editorial policy.

Albany News Project members

Tod Abbott grew up in Walnut Creek, graduated from Cal and holds a master's in philosophy from Northwestern University. Tod is a self-employed web developer as well as an inveterate volunteer. He serves on the boards of the Albany Chamber of Commerce, Solano Avenue Association and Albany Community Foundation, and as a Parks, Recreation & Open Space commissioner.

Michael Cabanatuan has lived the Albany life for nearly 25 years — schools, PTA, Boy Scouts, Music in the Park, Little League and patronizing local businesses— as he and his wife, Adrianne, raised their son, Ben. During that time, he worked as a journalist, reporting on transportation and general news for the San Francisco Chronicle, from which he recently retired. He’s also worked at the Paradise Post, West County Times and Modesto Bee.

Mary Flaherty has worked in the news business for 20 years. She has a journalism degree from UC Berkeley and has worked as a reporter, copyeditor and editor for publications including the San Francisco Chronicle, some East Bay dailies and Berkeleyside. She covered Albany for The Journal in 1995 and wrote freelance for Albany Patch. She also ran the WriterCoach Connection program at Albany Middle School for 10 years.

Peter Goodman is owner of Albany-based book publisher Stone Bridge Press. He has served as in-house editor, ghost writer, translator and project manager on over 400 Japan- and Asia-related titles. Peter moved to Albany in 1985 after 10 years living in Japan and the UK. He is currently on the board of the Publishing Professionals Network.

Bryan Marten is a 20+-year resident of Albany who helped raise two children in Albany and serves on the Albany Parks, Recreation & Open Space Commission. He volunteers in leadership roles in local and regional nonprofits. He has a B.S. in chemical physics and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and worked in the pharmaceutical industry doing computer-assisted drug design. He has been a high school science teacher for 25+ years.

Ken McCroskey is an East Bay native and Albany community activist and parent who has engaged with the city of Albany and community organizations to improve safety around transportation, and otherwise improve Albany, for 20+ years. He has helped plan, organize, publicize and run many events and publications in Albany. Ken spent his early career as an information designer for a biotech firm where he helped scientists communicate complex ideas clearly.

Chris Noble has 30+ years of experience in journalism, including a decade each with Reuters and MarketWatch. He is currently head of content of Yahoo Finance’s personal finance business. He has also worked at three Bay Area news startups, including as the founding editor of Knowhere, which explored the uses of AI in producing unbiased news. He moved to Albany with his wife and sons in 2005.

Susannah Patton is an experienced writer, editor and communications professional. She got her start in journalism covering local news in the Boston area and has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and other news outlets. A San Francisco native, she moved to Albany with her husband and two sons in 2005. She is currently editorial director for a national affordable housing nonprofit.

Nick Pilch is a 25-year resident of Albany. His son attended Albany schools. Nick served on the City Council from 2015 to 2020, was mayor in 2020, and has served on city commissions for a total of 12 years, serving currently on the Planning & Zoning Commission. Nick was a founder of several community organizations and efforts, including a Facebook page, News for Albany.

Karen Sorensen is a local-history author, independent historical researcher and East Bay native. Her two books on Albany history include Albany: Stories from the Village by the Bay and Albany: Images of America (the latter in conjunction with the Albany Historical Society). Her background includes work as a staff/freelance journalist, photo editor and nonprofit fundraiser. She and her husband raised their two children in Albany.

Learn more on the Albany News Project website.

To that end, we've just published a tip form to make it easy for you to share your thoughts.

News tips for Albany Scanner

Help us decide what to cover when we complete our fundraising campaign for a news reporter.

Albany ScannerEditor

Even though we aren't quite ready to start reporting, we want to build a database of ideas to help our writers know what you want them to pursue in the months ahead.

In addition, we'd love to start compiling your photographs right now to publish on the site and Instagram as we build momentum.

You can email photo submissions to tips@albanyscanner.com anytime.

We can't wait to hear from you as we work to build Albany Scanner into a comprehensive news site that will quickly become required reading.

This year, we’ve been hard at work thinking through everything that needs to happen to make the site a reality. And we’ve made some big decisions.

So what’s the plan? The site — Albany Scanner — will cover all things Albany and be the trusted, authoritative source you need on Albany politics, schools, local business, public safety, housing, transportation — and everything else you can imagine.

Our ultimate goal is regular news coverage (5-10 stories a week, to include freelance and community contributions) following an initial ramp-up period as we build our paid subscriber base and firm up the budget.

We’ll also produce a newsletter and allow comments to foster dialogue and debate.

Who’s behind this? Emilie Raguso (The Berkeley Scanner, Albany Patch, Berkeleyside) will oversee the site as publisher with help from a community advisory group, the Albany News Project, who will support Albany Scanner through fundraising and volunteerism.

Who will cover the news? In time, we’ll hire a full-time reporter who will oversee the site and produce stories with freelance support. For the first 6-12 months, as we see what the market will bear, we’ll rely on trusted freelance reporters to get the job done. Editorial operations will be independent and objective — there’s no political agenda.

How will it be funded? The Scanner will rely largely on monthly subscriptions to fund the reporting.

Major gifts of $1,000 or more will be tax deductible if made through Bay City News Foundation, our fiscal sponsor.

There will be no paywall — we want everyone to be able to read the Scanner.

But we can’t make this happen without substantial community support. In a town Albany's size, every single member will make a critical difference if we want to ensure a sustainable news operation in the years ahead.

Our promise: We will be responsive and accountable to the Albany community as we work to build a comprehensive news site that will quickly become required daily reading.

What’s next for Albany Scanner?

• Make sure to subscribe for updates on our plans
• Share this news with your friends and neighbors so they know what's in the works: Word-of-mouth will be crucial as we get up to speed
• Consider making a one-time gift to help launch the Scanner: All money raised via this message will fund reporting on the site and won't be used for any other purpose
• Able to dig deeper? Consider a tax-deductible major gift of $1,000 or more to help us launch sooner
• Follow us on Instagram

Learn more about the Albany News Project, a volunteer initiative organized by Albany citizens to support accurate and timely news reporting that serves the community.