ACTION PLAYBOOK

Reach Out to the Media

Push for coverage of the climate crisis that is fair, accurate, and inspires action.

According to an analysis by HEATED, only 44% of articles on record-breaking U.S. weather mention climate change, and even fewer name the fossil fuel industry. Meanwhile, transformative climate laws like the Inflation Reduction Act or positive news stories like a city grant or a new county power plant often go uncovered or lack the dot-connecting to climate. An informed public is vital for climate progress, and we can demand better media coverage.

Step 1: Choose your reporters

Make a list of media people you read, follow, watch, or listen to. These can be all-around reporters in your local area, or climate-specific reporters at the national or regional level.

Ideas:

  • local TV news anchors 

  • Staff journalists at your local paper (print or online).

  • reporters on the climate/environment beat (meaning their stories are primarily on that topic) at large national publications

  • climate bloggers

  • essayists and opinion contributors

  • newsletter authors

  • podcasters

  • social media creators who primarily cover climate change

Pro tip: Keeping your outreach localized greatly increases your success rate, since there’s much more competition for national media attention. And while it deserves national attention, climate change is also a hyper-localized issue with different effects on different populations.

Step 2: Compile contact information

Look for an email, social media handle, phone number, etc. associated with their content or profile page. Often, you can figure out the email format for a specific news outlet by searching Google for other email addresses at the outlet and then plugging in the reporter’s name or initials into that format. Most content creators are accessible via social media DMs or public tags, such as on X, so if you can’t find their email address, feel free to send your whole letter via DM.

Step 3: Write your letter

Below are issue-specific writing guides to help build your letter. Don’t forget to bcc advocacy@climatechangemakers.org!

A few evergreen tips:

  • Be kind. Bloggers are small business owners, so be nice. And reporters are often beholden to their editors and the views of the media outlet that employs them. It’s possible they’re on your side and wish they could mention climate more! If you think that’s truly the case, consider adding a sentence like, “I know you care about this too. Please feel free to forward my email up the chain so your team hears from viewers like me directly.”

  • Always personalize! Include your personal climate “why” to help build a connection with the reporter and keep your message locally relevant. If you’ve never written a sentence or two about your own connections to the climate crisis, check out the  Write Your Climate “Why” playbook.

  • Stand out in their inbox. This is a pro tip! The subject line of an email or the first sentence of social media outreach is critical for catching the attention of the reporter/content creator. Use punchy words or reference major ongoing news stories.

4. Tag the reporter or media outlet on social media

Now, choose one or more social media platforms where you can tag the reporter. Adapt the message you wrote in Step 3 to the correct length and for a public audience, then use the social media handles you found in Step 1 to tag the reporter/creator.

Journalists are actually quite accessible online! They increasingly rely on social media to monitor their beat, connect with sources, receive tips and pitches, and build their organization’s profile. Social media is truly as effective a way to reach reporters as email, and you never know who else you inspire with your post, too!

And that’s it, playbook complete! Feel accomplished.
Thank you for taking action.

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Go to the current Action Plan

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