With an Eye on Reader Revenue, Grist Launches New Products Capitalizing on Today's Political Climate

In the world of environmental journalism, the recent shift in political administrations has offered a glimmer of hope. Grist, a 21-year-old nonprofit dedicated to covering climate change, has rolled out a suite of new initiatives in recent weeks, including a website redesign and the launch of Fix, a “solutions lab" that will operate as a distinct sub-brand. The publisher also released its sixth-annual Grist 50 Tuesday, a catalog of the most influential activists in the climate change space. The goal of the rebrand, which was led by digital product studio Upstatement, is partly to attract more members and grow its share of reader revenue, Grist CEO Brady Piñero Walkinshaw told Adweek. Facing Unemployment and Climate Change, Consumers Turn to Recommerce Competing for readers interested in the environment While Grist is dedicated to covering climate change by publishing articles that explore corporate accountability and legislation related to the environment, other media organizations— like The Economist, The Guardian, and Bloomberg—have also increased their coverage of environmental justice in the last year. The growing saturation of the field is bittersweet for Grist; the new entrants reflect the increasing interest in environmental journalism, but they also compete for its readership. "That's why the rebrand could be so important," said Alice Pickthall, a senior research analyst for Enders Analysis. "They can say, 'We have all of these great initiatives that we're launching, but we need funding, and part of that funding comes from you, our members. Come join us in this mission.'" Grist anticipates generating $7 million in revenue in the coming year. Funding climate journalism Academic research has shown that the advertising-based model that bankrolls much of journalism is at odds with the long-term funding necessary to support climate change reporting. As a nonprofit, Grist enjoys a critical advantage in that it generates 90% of its funding from foundational gifts and major donors, such as the Schmidt Family Foundation, the JPB Foundation, the Kendeda Fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The remaining 10% of its revenue comes evenly from advertising and membership revenue. Combined, Grist anticipates generating $7 million in revenue in the coming year. Reader revenue comes from Grist’s nearly 5,000 members, who pay one-time or recurring donations of under $1,000 annually, Walkinshaw said. The publisher also works with “mission-aligned” advertisers like Nature’s Logic and Patagonia, whose brand reputation mirrors its own. Positive brand association Climate change has been politicized in recent years, and some brands have added the subject to their keyword blocklists, said Claire Atkin, the cofounder of the advertising consultancy firm Check My Ads. For brands whose identities are rooted in climate activism though, a publication like Grist offers a halo of positive brand association. "If I'm an advertiser and I have done everything to prove that I am an environmental steward, I would want to be on Grist," Atkins said. "It proves that I am the brand for people who care about the environment." Grist said that it attracts 2 million readers to its website monthly, though it syndicates content with more than two dozen other sites to broaden its reach, including Slate and The Weather Channel. It also has five newsletters––The Beacon, The Daily, The Weekly, Ask Umbra and Shift Happens––as well as pop-up newsletters, such as The First 100, which tracked Biden’s climate legislature in his first three months in office. On average, each newsletter reaches 15,000 subscribers, according to a Grist spokesperson. The newsroom, headquartered in Seattle, has more than doubled in size in the last four years from 25 to 54. Through its fellowship program, Grist also welcomes between 10 and 15 environmental journalists into its fold every year, with an emphasis on recruiting writers of color. Grist's main site received a facelift. New programs creating community Grist launched Fix in 2019 as a content vertical focused on highlighting solutions-based journalism and path-breaking climate activists, but this week the solutions lab has graduated into an official sub-brand with a distinct visual identity and landing page. The nature of the content is unchanged, but it reflects Grist's efforts to create a community. Grist's main site also received a facelift, opting for a cleaner aesthetic. The brand aims to convey heavy truths in digestible language. Recent headlines include "Can FEMA save 'the poorest town in America' from drowning in its own poop?" Journalism Is Changing—and Gabe Schneider Wants Newsroom Leaders to Catch Up The historic whiteness of climate change activism Grist is also investing in programs to empower historically marginalized groups. One such initiative, Uproot, acts as a network of 30 writers of color pursuing environmental reporting. It counts publications like The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and ProPublica among its founding members. The initial idea came from the Grist 50, a yearly list of changemakers, which matured from an award of recognition into a fully-fledged community. Uproot, Grist 50, the fellowship program and Radicle, a forthcoming brand from Grist's entrepreneur-in-residence that aims to "engage Gen Z and young Black millennials on the climate crisis," all share the same objective: Changing the face of environmental storytelling. “Over the last four years, the story of climate change at the federal level was not a very positive one,” Walkinshaw said. “Now, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that will change.” How Environmental News Outlet Grist Is Growing Revenue & Building a Broader Audience