Publication Items

The not-so-simple act of pitching story ideas is among the biggest challenges facing freelance environmental reporters. Is the pitch smartly targeted, thoroughly researched, well-crafted? Our new Freelance Files co-editor Marianne Messina spoke to four top-level editors at well-known outlets to get their perspectives on making a successful pitch. Learn why outlets need you, what they look for and how to avoid basic mistakes.

With many states dominated by a few powerful industries — whether oil, mining or agriculture — the influence of campaign dollars can have an outsize effect on legislation, even to the point of corruption, notes the latest Reporter’s Toolbox. So while the U.S. Congress may be languishing, environmental journalists can dig up stories on lobbying at the state level using a powerful data source.

When a pair of journalists reported on a degraded Colombian mangrove swamp, they turned to two local fishermen to help tell the story, tapping into their experience as they worked to repair the ecosystem that fed their community. In the latest Inside Story Q&A, reporter Jacobo Patiño Giraldo explains their successful use of primary source solutions journalism.

If the possibility of a politically driven dearth of data for your climate and environment reporting has you on edge, the new Reporter’s Toolbox just may have something to soothe your nerves: A data source from beyond the grasp of the Trump administration and outside the boundaries of the United States. Take a quick tour of environmental data from the OECD.