PIONEERING GREEN NEWS SITE AIMS TO STRENGTHEN SUSTAINABILITY STORYTELLING
Contact: fellowships@grist.org
Seattle, Wash. (March 4, 2014) — Grist (www.grist.org), the influential and irreverent green news organization, is pleased to welcome its first class of editorial fellows. The Grist Fellowship Program is a brand-new opportunity for early-career reporters, editors, and journalists of all stripes to hone their skills at a national news outlet and deepen their knowledge of environmental issues. The fellowship will offer exposure to the leading sustainability thinkers and theories of our time, real-world experience at a fast-paced news site, and the opportunity to experiment with digital storytelling.
The first group of fellows — Amber Cortes, Eve Andrews, and Samantha Larson — will make daily contributions to Grist’s editorial operations, including (but not limited to) research, reporting, writing, and multimedia projects.
“Climate change is the story of our lifetime, but the mainstream media have been missing on the beat,” said Grist Founder and CEO Chip Giller. “We’re excited to play a role in seeding a next generation of journalists committed to telling this story and others related to sustainability. Never has there been a more urgent need for informed, inventive reporting.”
“During the application process, all three journalists impressed us with their ideas and their desire to elevate the great work that Grist is already doing,” said Grist Fellowship Director Andrew Simon, formerly a senior editor at both Fast Company and ESPN. “I expect this group to produce high-level stories from the jump.” Simon added that the first class of fellows was selected from a pool of more than 120 applicants.
Cortes has done digital media work for public radio stations, including WNYC in New York and KUOW in Seattle. She has a B.A. in Nonfiction Writing and Anthropology from Hampshire College and is currently enrolled in the Master of Communication in Digital Media Program at the University of Washington. Andrews, who has a B.A. in Economics and Hispanic Studies from Vassar College, was most recently research director at Food Tank. Larson has both a B.S. and M.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford and has written daily news articles for National Geographic.
All three fellows will work out of Grist’s Seattle office for the next six months. “To have three talented journalists join our editorial staff is a huge boost,” said Simon. “Now we can dive even deeper into the stories that matter most to our readers — and to the planet.”
The application process for the second class of 2014 fellowships will begin later this month.
About Grist
Grist is an independent nonprofit media organization that shapes the country’s environmental conversations, making green second nature for our monthly audience of 2,000,000 and growing. We reach the next generation by cutting through the noise to connect big issues like climate change to daily life, and by spotlighting the people and ideas leading us to a more sustainable future. (Also by posting videos of baby animals … hey, we’re only human.) Founded in 1999, Grist has been featured by media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC’s Today, and TIME, and has won many prestigious awards for its pioneering media work.
