[6] In 2017, Berkeleyside received a $60,000 grant from the Lenfest Institute to teach other news organizations how to launch a direct public offering.
Berkeleyside was founded by Frances Dinkelspiel, Lance Knobel and Tracey Taylor in response to the cutbacks in local news that affected the Bay Area.
Berkeleyside's coverage reflects the notion that Berkeley is a city of cutting-edge ideas and technologies that is frequently in the forefront of political discourse.
In 2016, the same organization gave Emilie Raguso, senior reporter, and Frances Dinkelspiel an award in explanatory journalism for their comprehensive coverage of homelessness in Berkeley.
[9] In 2017, SPJ NorCal named Emilie Raguso the “Journalist of the Year.”[10] In 2017, the San Francisco Press Club gave Berkeleyside first place in the digital media division for “Overall Excellence,” along with awards for breaking news, coverage of Berkeley's November 2016 election, and other stories.