NowThis, the no.1 most-watched mobile news brand globally, has announced the launch of a major editorial endeavor, NowThis Earth.
The new channel focuses on comprehensive coverage of human impact on our planet, and how to respond.
NowThis Earth is launched in partnership with Earth HQ, the media arm of Global Common Alliance, a coalition of scientific, philanthropic and conservation organizations along with business networks working to protect the global commons.
Additional support will be provided by Mongabay, a non-profit conservation and environmental science news outlet.
The launch of NowThis Earth coincides with the major Heads of State meeting co-sponsored by the Global Commons Alliance to commit to greater ambition to address the planetary emergency.
The live launch will be kicked off by Bill Nye, who will open a stream of live locations around the world alongside facts regarding the human impact on our planet’s health and the U.N.’s commitments to green solutions over the next decade.
Young audiences are deeply engaged with coverage of the climate crisis and the issues impacting our planet. NowThis audiences are five times more likely to engage with sustainability focused coverage than any other topic, and in the last year NowThis audiences have racked up nearly 600 million views on coverage of the issue.
The channel will cover issues beyond the climate crisis to also include how human action is impacting endangered species, biodiversity, the health of our oceans and forests, as well as vulnerable communities. With daily planet-focused news stories, coverage of changemakers focused on these issues, interviews, op-eds, and select calls to action, NowThis’ diversified approach to coverage is aimed at fostering informed decision making about the future of our common home.
“In the wake of growing environmental crises around the globe, there is a planet-sized news and information gap on the big picture of what’s happening to the Earth’s systems as a whole,” said NowThis President Athan Stephanopolous. NowThis Earth will inform Millenial and Gen-Z audiences about the implications of human activity on our planet and illuminate solutions to these urgent challenges.”
“There is overwhelming evidence that we are in the middle of a planetary emergency. We aim to establish NowThis Earth as an indispensable news source for millennials wanting to understand the ‘Big Picture’ and societal transformation towards global sustainability,” said Tim Kelly, Director of the Global Commons Alliance’s Earth HQ. “Climate instability and nature loss are combining to wreak havoc and endanger the health, economy, and future for billions of people. With NowThis’s massive reach combined with the 500 environmental science journalists of Mongabay, the Global Commons Alliance hopes to empower people everywhere to encourage urgent action to protect the global commons.”
“We’re facing multiple environmental crises. To effectively combat these challenges we require better and more actionable information, communicated in a timely, effective, and accessible manner,” said Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett A. Butler. “This partnership will bring reporting from journalists on Nature’s frontline to NowThis’s huge global audience and the Global Common Alliance’s network of leaders who shape policy and influence global trends for a sustainable future.”
NowThis has made strong investments in covering the climate crisis, sending reporters across the country to cover stories on coastal erosion near the Great Lakes, sustainable farming in Puerto Rico, and internationally to cover the impact of climate change on the Arctic Circle. Its popular and approachable weekly series “One Small Step” highlights the little things we can all do to live more sustainable lives and has encouraged young audiences to take meaningful action.
Last year, NowThis joined news organizations globally for the “Covering Climate Now” (CCN) project co-led by The Nation and Columbia Journalism Review, committing to more and better coverage of the climate crisis. Last week, as part of 2020 climate week, NowThis participated in CCN’s “Youth Takeover Day” to spotlight young climate activists, as well as a week of ramped up climate politics coverage ahead of the 2020 presidential election. As part of an ongoing effort with the United Nations, NowThis correspondents have conducted high-profile interviews with world leaders, including the U.N Deputy Secretary General, spotlighting its Sustainable Development Goals and youth climate leadership around the world.
About NowThis
NowThis is the #1 mobile news brand in the U.S. [Nielsen DCR, June 2020]. They have a singular mission: to make news engaging and relevant for young adults by humanizing our complicated world. By providing insightful context from a youth perspective, NowThis has revolutionized how news is consumed today. Launched in 2012, NowThis’ entertaining, inspiring and informative videos are created for a mobile generation and receive over 2.6 billion monthly views [platform analytics, June 2020]. In December 2016, NowThis joined forces with Thrillist, The Dodo and Seeker to form Group Nine Media — the #1 video publisher on mobile in the U.S. [Nielsen DCR, June 2020].
About Global Commons Alliance
The Global Commons Alliance is an unprecedented collaboration of influential actors focused on systems change. Launched in June 2019, the Global Commons Alliance is bringing together powerful leadership, science, innovation, technology, and communications to positively transform the global economy and protect the global commons. This scientific/social collaborative is building a new framework for prosperity and equity for the whole Earth system, which is an entirely new branch of knowledge. The result will be an innovative target-setting mechanism that translates science into concrete actions by companies and cities. Complementing that is the spread of a new positive narrative to mobilize companies, cities, investors, the broader public, and ultimately governments, toward ensuring our planet remains habitable.
About Mongabay
Mongabay is a non-profit conservation and environmental science news outlet that delivers daily news and inspiration from Nature’s frontline via its local-language bureaus and global network of more than 675 journalists in nearly 80 countries. Mongabay’s evidence-driven journalism is syndicated by a wide range of outlets, greatly extending its reach beyond the 8 million people who access its information on a monthly basis. Mongabay is dedicated to publishing journalism that fills gaps in understanding by highlighting underreported issues and holding decision makers accountable for the results of their decisions.
Contact
Priyanka Mantha
Director of Communications, NowThis