Climate Publisher Grist Elevates Its EIC to CEO as It Eyes Expansion

The nonprofit publisher Grist, which reports on climate change and its solutions, announced Tuesday that it has named Nikhil Swaminathan as its new chief executive officer. He began the role on Monday, Sept. 19. Swaminathan hopes to usher in a new chapter for the publisher by expanding its mission––beyond basic climate change awareness––in two key ways: by informing people that climate change is a social justice issue, and by showcasing the people and methods combating its advance. In doing so, Swaminathan hopes to expand the audience of Grist, particularly in parts of the country often overlooked by climate coverage. Grist currently reaches 2 million readers a month across its platforms, according to the publisher. “My main priority is expanding and engaging more deeply with our audience,” Swaminathan said. “Climate change is an all-hands-on-deck issue. Grist can’t only write stories for people in the progressive movement; we have to be able to speak to a wide, diverse audience.” As CEO, Nikhil Swaminathan aims to expand the reach and relevance of Grist through a number of nationwide initiatives. The appointment comes at a critical time for Grist, as mainstream publishers including The New York Times, The Guardian and Bloomberg Media have increased their coverage of climate change in response to reader interest. As a nonprofit, Grist generates the majority of its revenue through philanthropic and charitable gifts, but it has ramped up its membership efforts in the hopes of achieving a more diverse stream of revenue. A CEO with roots in reporting Swaminathan joined Grist in 2017 and became its executive editor in 2018, the top position in the newsroom at the time. In 2021, he was promoted to editor in chief––and he has served as the interim CEO since February, when his predecessor, Brady Piñero Walkinshaw, stepped down from the role. In the absence of an editor in chief, executive editor Katherine Bagley and deputy editor Teresa Chin will lead the Grist newsroom. The publisher does plan to appoint someone to fill the position, although Swaminathan declined to provide a specific timeline for the hire. As CEO, he will oversee the entire 56-person staff of Grist, which includes the 30-person newsroom he led as editor in chief, and be responsible for fundraising efforts, speaking and thought leadership engagements, maintaining organizational culture and serving as a resource for the Grist newsroom. Expanding the scope and audience of Grist Swaminathan also hopes to further a number of new initiatives he introduced while running editorial operations. Under his leadership, Grist has placed more emphasis on the intersectional nature of climate change and its propensity to affect more severely affect disadvantaged communities, such as the poor and residents of the Global South. While editor in chief, Swaminathan helped the publisher establish its environmental justice and investigations desks—and he played a critical role in launching its Indigenous affairs desk. Swaminathan, who lives in Atlanta, also helped spearhead the transformation of Grist into a distributed newsroom, part of a larger effort to make the publisher relevant to a nationwide audience. Toward the same end, he helped embed the company's reporters in local news stations and encouraged them to syndicate Grist reporting. These efforts let the publisher conduct on-site climate reporting in places like Georgia and the Plains states, increasing the visibility of the brand and serving local readers. Likewise, under Swaminathan Grist piloted a program called Imagine 2200, which called for literary submissions that explored an optimistic portrayal of the future. The contest, which trades in a genre called cli-fi, attracted thousands of submissions and exposed a new audience to the Grist mission, Swaminathan said. These efforts, along with growing membership revenue, aim to translate a wider audience base into a larger cohort of paying readers, beyond the mercurial nature of philanthropic giving. “We want to build up our audience in places where people are suffering the impacts of climate change, but are less educated about it,” Swaminathan said. “We have the potential––because we look at our work as a public good––to become a climate desk for the entire country.” With an Eye on Reader Revenue, Grist Launches New Products Capitalizing on Today’s Political Climate