Skip to the content
Rhett Ayers Butler
Working to ensure that environmental journalism is a viable career option that provides a decent and dignified living. Advertising-based media is struggling, resulting in fewer resources for enterprise reporting, such as in-depth investigations. This decline also means fewer paid opportunities for journalists. The challenges are arguably even more acute for journalists who focus on environmental […]
This week, Elon Musk confirmed that the social media platform, X — formerly known as Twitter — plans to stop displaying news article headlines or text within links. Will this decision accelerate the abandonment of the platform by environmentalists? The decline of “Environmental Twitter,” a segment of 380,000 users who frequently discussed climate change and […]
LinkedIn has become our top source for English-language readership via social media. Given the inquiries about social media following my post on audience engagement (https://bit.ly/3rW7QBn), I analyzed the year-to-date social media data for Mongabay’s English-language news website, https://news.mongabay.com. Surprisingly, visitors arriving via LinkedIn links collectively spent 77,070 hours reading our news articles in the first seven […]
“You are the enemy.” “You must stop writing about palm oil.” Such were the words directed at me by a Malaysian palm oil company executive, flanked by two bodyguards, in an elevator in the late 2000s. Though it wasn’t the most menacing incident I’ve encountered in my reporting (e.g. https://bit.ly/44PtpSL), it epitomizes the intimidation journalists regularly […]
What’s the secret to securing funding from foundations? This question, in various forms, has been asked of me a lot since my LinkedIn post about the fundraising component of Mongabay‘s strategic plan (https://bit.ly/3NVeRd2) a few days ago. To be clear, I don’t claim to be an expert in this field. However, I can certainly share insights […]
In recent months, Vice filed for bankruptcy, National Geographic fired its remaining staff writers, BuzzFeed closed its Pulitzer Prize-winning news division, MTV News shut down, The New York Times closed its sports desk, while The LA Times, Insider, and major TV and cable news networks made deep cuts to their newsrooms. In short, advertising-dependent news […]
This post is the third in a series on Mongabay’s recently published 2030 plan. This post focuses on audience engagement. Earlier posts include: Addressing the planetary challenges we collectively face won’t be simple. As a journalism organization, Mongabay plays a crucial role by providing news and inspiration from nature’s frontlines. Our goal is to share […]
This post is the second in a series on Mongabay’s recently published 2030 plan. This post focuses on Mongabay’s editorial agenda. One of Mongabay’s key strengths is our ability to report globally on nature conservation and biodiversity, presenting nuanced stories from a network of local journalists. As a newsroom, we often prioritize the science behind […]
Mongabay has experienced significant growth since its establishment in 1999, evolving from a single-person rainforest website into a multinational news organization with hundreds of staff and contributing journalists. We have made tremendous progress, thanks to our newsroom’s ability to produce original journalism that creates tangible impact. However, the magnitude of the global challenges we face […]