Sophie Hirsh
Senior Editor, Green Matters
What was your path to becoming an editor?
After casually freelancing at various news outlets for a few years, my first full-time job in journalism was as an editorial intern at Mashable. Following that internship, I worked as a staff writer at various news outlets, including Condé Nast’s Social News Desk (writing for 10 Condé Nast brands), Someecards, and Romper. After several years of consistently working as a reporter across various brands and verticals, I sought a job in journalism that was more mission-focused. Thanks to working as a reporter for several years and my personal background in the sustainability space, I was hired at Green Matters as a senior editor.
Who are your biggest inspirations within the space?
Greta Thunberg, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Cara Buckley (NYT reporter), Leah Thomas, Matthew Kenney, Naomi Klein, and Jodi Monelle (founder of LiveKindly).
What is your brand’s mission? Who are you seeking to impact?
Green Matters’ mission is to make sustainability — ranging from eco-friendly living to news about the climate crisis — more accessible and approachable. We aim to impact people across all points of their journey to eco-conscious living, whether they have just started learning about the topic or they have been an environmentalist for years. The climate crisis affects every person on Earth, but it most disproportionately affects the people who contribute to it the least, including people in low-income communities, and Black and Brown communities — so it’s important for everyone who has the privilege to ignore these issues to listen to these issues.
How has COVID affected your editorial strategy? What is something you’ve learned from this new normal?
When COVID first broke out, I was shocked (but also not too shocked) to learn that it most likely originated in a live animal market, where animals are slaughtered just feet away from customers, making it a breeding ground for disease. Animal agriculture has an enormous impact on the environment, something that we write about at Green Matters often, and the information about COVID’s origins made the connection between the virus, abusing animals, and the environment very clear.
On a more day-to-day basis, we have written many articles about COVID and sustainability, whether that means news on lockdowns impacting the climate, tips on using non-toxic cleaning products, how to stay zero-waste during the pandemic, or reassurance that it’s OK to put your safety, health, and sanity above your zero-waste values, especially during this hectic time.
From this “new normal,” I’ve learned how important it is to be an intersectional environmentalist — climate issues really do connect with every other issue, from global disease pandemics to racial justice.
What do you think will be the greater impact on journalism?
Unfortunately, I see more news brands keeping remote operations for a while after COVID. This is unfortunate because I think working in an office / newsroom is important and helps breed more ideas and creativity. One upside is that companies are hosting events virtually, meaning more reporters can attend even if they do not live in a major city.
What are you currently reading?
I just finished Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (it really holds up!). I’m currently re-reading Joyful Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau while I wait for a few other books to come in the mail that I ordered from local and Black-owned bookstores: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo, Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad, and Sistah Vegan by A. Breeze Harper.
Knowing that news breaks on social media, whether it's a new government policy or the latest celeb pregnancy announcement, how does your team use social media to report on the story?
We’ve found that our Instagram audience is our most receptive and supportive social audience, so when we report on breaking news, we ask our art director to create a corresponding grid post for Instagram, and we'll often include lot of copy underneath, as opposed to teasing the story's details. Even though profit comes from article page views and not from Instagram, followers like when they don’t have to leave the Instagram app to read a full article, so this builds our brand and follower loyalty even if not directly gaining ad views.