Civil Beat has quickly become one of the most respected news sites in Hawaii. Their journalists have won dozens of state and regional awards and Civil Beat has been named the best news website in Hawaii for the past four years by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Civil Beat also hopes to foster community discussion by providing a place where citizens can debate important issues in a civil manner, free from cheap shots and personal swipes. They do that through encouraging a wide variety of reader-written Community Voices, public events and through their integrated Facebook comments.