Grist (magazine)

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Grist
Grist-logo.png
URL grist.org
Type of site News
Created by Staff writers
Launched April 1999

Grist (originally Grist Magazine; also referred to as Grist.org) is an American non-profit online magazine that has been publishing environmental news and commentary with a wry twist since 1999. Grist's taglines are "Gloom and doom with a sense of humor" and "A beacon in the smog". Grist is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. This is not to be confused with the 1960s poetry magazine Grist by John Fowler, that included works by Charles Plymell (an editor on Grist), Robert Branaman and possibly the first published art by Steve "S. Clay" Wilson and his Checkered Demon's first appearance.

Time magazine referred to Grist as, "The Colbert Report of climate change, The Daily Show of deforestation, the Oprah of oil dependency -- except with real reporting and analytical journalism."[1] This highlights the delicate balance Grist maintains bringing together humor and serious environmental journalism. Grist won the Webby People's Voice Award for Best Magazine in both 2005 and 2006 as well as the 2010 Webby for Best Political Blog. In 2010, Grist also won a Telly Award and a People's Telly Award. Chip Giller is president and founder of Grist. Giller received the Heinz Award for founding Grist in 2009. In 2004, he received the Jane Bagley Lehman Award for Excellence in Public Advocacy, from the Tides Foundation in recognition of the role Grist is playing in increasing environmental awareness. Giller took first place in the 2001 AlterNet New Media Hero contest for his work on Grist and was one of five finalists for the Environmental Grantmakers Association's 2002 "Environmental Messenger of the Year Award." Giller was previously the editor of Greenwire, the first environmental news daily, and a reporter for High Country News, a biweekly newspaper covering Western environmental issues.

Content and coverage

Grist offers reporting, interviews, opinion pieces, daily news, book reviews, food and agricultural coverage, and green advice. Its mission is "to inform, entertain, provoke, and encourage its readers to think creatively about environmental problems and solutions."

Regular features include "Ask Umbra," an environmental advice column by Umbra Fisk, the "Grist List," covering green celebrities and pop culture, as well as "Victual Reality," Tom Philpott's column on food and agricultural issues. Grist also summarizes the day's environmentally related news events in daily and weekly email newsletters.

Grist covers a wide range of green tops including food and agriculture, climate and energy, sustainable living, green building, urban planning, public transportation, business, politics and other related topics. Main writers include David Roberts (@drgrist), Lisa Hymas (@lisahymas), and Sarah Goodyear (@buttermilk1). Grist has published special issues on biofuels;[2] religion and the environment;[3] poverty and the environment;[4] the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi River;[5]Hurricane Katrina; and the controversy surrounding an essay by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus called "The Death of Environmentalism." They also started a campaign called "Screw Earth Day";[6] encouraging people to act on environmental issues all year long.

Voice

Grist takes serious and often difficult-to-digest environmental news and makes it manageable and entertaining using humor and a well-developed voice. Articles range from light to dark green environmental issues but tend to focus on relevant and serious topics. Grist's "About Me" discusses their take on environmental journalism. "You know how some people make lemonade out of lemons? At "Grist", we're making lemonade out of looming climate apocalypse." Their voice takes a role in holding together each article, video, writer and comment to create a succinct publication.

Awards and Accolades

Notes

  1. ^ Our Fans Speak, Grist.org
  2. ^ Biofuels at Grist
  3. ^ Religion and the environment at Grist
  4. ^ Poverty and the environment at Grist
  5. ^ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi River at Grist
  6. ^ [ 5. http://www.grist.org/screwearthday] at Grist

External links