How to pitch Mongabay stories on climate and Indigenous communities
Global nonprofit newsroom Mongabay covers environmental change and its consequences for communities. Editor Latoya Abulu leads the Indigenous news desk, and focuses on how Indigenous communities navigate climate change and other threats. She relies heavily on a robust network of freelancers around the world, and hopes to find more contributors based in Canada and the United States, particularly in California.
Latoya spoke with IIJ leader Erika Hayasaki about how to avoid common pitfalls in pitching stories about Indigenous communities. Mongabay pays between $0.40 and $1 per word for stories that are full of complexity and show a connection to Indigenous communities, and may also cover travel expenses. Latoya says that pitches incorporating nuance and pre-reporting stand out.
Erika Hayaski is a writer focusing on the intersections of identity, race, psychology, inequality, science, technology, history, and the human condition. She writes a newsletter called The Reported Essay. She is a former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and currently teaches at the University of California, Irvine as a professor in the Literary Journalism Program.
The Freelance Journalism Podcast is a production of the Institute for Independent Journalists, whose mission is the financial and emotional sustainability of freelancers of color. Learn more about our work at theiij.com
Episode Links
How a fun women’s gathering led to small wildcat conservation in Peru’s Andes by James Hall
Indigenous midwives in Panama strive to preserve traditional medicine for maternal health by Adam D. Williams
Under the shadow of war in the DRC, a mining company acts with impunity by Didier Makal and Latoya Abulu. Didier started as a freelance journalist for Mongabay. Latoya tells IIJ via email, “It was the culmination of multiple stories that he wrote for us, including his professionalism, network of sources and in-depth reporting that got him hired.”
“Brothers on Three,” by Abe Streep, a book about a basketball team and coming of age on a reservation in Montana.
The International Center for Journalists offers reporting grants and so does the Pulitzer Center's Rainforest Journalism Fund.