Alexandra Popescu
(She/Her)
As seen in:
Mongabay,
Pacific Standard,
Food Tank,
Trellis,
Mondaq,
Just Style,
IPP Media,
Just-Food
Covers:
Environmental science, climate change, deforestation, land rights and extractive industries, Indigenous people, biodiversity, wildlife, commodities supply chains, human rights, social justice.
Doesn't Cover:
politics, entertainment, financial news.
Latin America editor @Mongabay. Environmental and food journalist. Opinions are my own. DMs for ideas and story tips
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
editor at National Geographic Magazine
Have you ever used a typewriter?
yes
How is social media changing news?
I have mixed feelings about that - easier access to stories and sources, but not necessarily reliable sources and accurate information.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Bob Woodward in All the President's Men
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Being truthful, curious, and working for the public interest.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
don't really follow hashtags
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
via email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Wordpress, satellite images
What's your favorite social network?
LinkedIn - less noise than on other networks.
Who do you wish followed you?
policymakers interested in producing effective climate and environmental policies.
Why did you become a journalist?
I wanted to produce meaningful work, with the potential to change something in people's lives.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
N/A
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Working on a year-long investigation with National Geographic Magazine on the rise of supermarkets in Romania.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
There are stories everywhere. Cultivate enduring relationships with sources. Have less ego and more curiosity.
When's the best time to pitch you?
via e-mail, so all the time.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Hopefully the next one.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
there is no worst pitch, only insufficiently researched ideas.
What's your favorite drink?
water
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Traveling, running, reading and spending time with my family.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Guardian.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That environmental news is only about nature and climate - it's very much about people and the impacts on lives and economies.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.