“How do I get my project covered on Mongabay?”
As the founder of Mongabay, this is one of the questions I’m frequently asked.
For those of you who don’t know Mongabay, we’re a non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform.
The Mongabay newsroom is flooded with story ideas and pitches on a daily basis from a wide range of people, companies, and organizations. Only a small fraction of those end up getting covered.
So how do you get your project, paper, organization, or news item to end up in a Mongabay story?
Here are some things that can help.
🔹 IDENTIFY THE RIGHT PERSON AT MONGABAY
You can greatly increase the odds of getting Mongabay coverage by emailing the right person in the newsroom.
To find the right writer or editor, look at the bylines and editors listed on articles related to the topics you are pitching. The editor can be found at the bottom of a story under “Article published by”.
You can also review our staff directory.
And here you can find information about how to submit a commentary to Mongabay: https://news.mongabay.com/submissions/
If you can’t find the right person, take a look at our contact page.
I am not a commissioning editor, so I’m not the right point of contact for pitches.
🔹 HAVE A CLEAR AND CONCISE PITCH
As I mentioned in an earlier post, journalists often work under tight deadlines, so make it as easy as possible for them to cover your work.
Keep your message clear and concise with additional detail attached or included below the summary.
Your summary should make it clear why your work is important and relevant.
🔹 BE TARGETED
Start by contacting a single editor or writer. Copying a bunch of people will likely reduce the odds of getting a response.
Wait at least a week before sending a follow up.
🔹 BEYOND MONGABAY
While there’s no guaranteed formula to getting coverage, these tips will increase the odds that Mongabay may cover your work. They’ll also boost your chances of pickup by other media outlets too.