We were lucky to catch up with John Platt recently and have shared our conversation below.

John, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I never set out to cover the extinction crisis. In a lot of ways, it found me. I had been writing boring corporate material, along with horror fiction on the side, when I started to see news about the endangered species of the world that no one else was covering or talking about. I started a little blog, and it took off—so much so that it took over my life and career and gave me purpose. Along the way I’ve written stories about thousands of endangered species, and edited hundreds more, and helped make a difference for conservation efforts worldwide.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I worked as a freelance journalist for 10 years, covering environmental news, technology careers, philanthropy, and a host of other topics. About 7 years ago, The Center for Biological Diversity recruited me to take my experience on a new path. We created The Revelator, an editorially independent news and commentary site that became the new host for my writing and an opportunity for me to edit other writers and drive the conversation.

The site differs from a lot of other environmental publications, as we focus more on wildlife than topics like climate change– which is of course important, but gets a lot of other news coverage around the world. We focus on the topics of the other big publishers miss and try to provide context that no one else is talking about. This gives us an edge for our dedicated readers and makes it easier for other publishers to reprint our work, extending our reach.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A lot of people tell me they can’t imagine writing about endangered species and extinction all the time, and that it must drain me. In fact, I’ve learned that it’s the opposite. Writing about the extinction crisis is an intrinsically hopeful act. I talk to activists, scientists and conservationists every day. They’re the people trying to make a difference; i’m just trying to tell their stories. Their resilience gives me resilience. It’s like Mr Rogers said: look to the heroes. They’ll give you the strength to keep going.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2006 I left a good job and moved to Maine for family reasons. My idea was that I would freelance and easily find the clients I needed. Too bad we moved to a really rural town with no industry to hire my talents. But I had started this simple blog about endangered species, and used it as my calling card when introducing myself to new clients. They kept telling me, “do that for us.” I never expected to do it professionally, but it provided me with my voice, an opportunity to support my family, and a mission to do good and leave the world better than I found it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://therevelator.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnrplatt/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnplatt/