Rhett Butler is the founder and CEO of Mongabay, one of the largest, longest running and most important environmental news sites online. 

Rhett started the site just 20 years ago when an area of rainforest he had visited and enjoyed in Borneo was cut down just eight weeks later, logged down for woodchips to supply a paper pulp plant. 

He spent the first ten years of the project operating Mongabay entirely on his own, publishing thousands of stories and tens of thousands of photos. Today, Rhett serves as editor-in-chief and CEO of Mongabay, which is a non-profit media organisation with more than three dozen staff across four bureaus and a network of around 250 correspondents in 50 countries. 

In today’s podcast we talk about his journey setting up and growing Mongabay and where he plans to take things next. We also talk about the importance of journalism in environmental conservation, alongside practical tips on how to craft a compelling story. If you’re interested in news, media, journalism and communications, it’s a must-listen episode. Enjoy.