• by Ray Schultz , October 3, 2023

Kyle Pope, editor and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review since 2016, is leaving to focus on climate change journalism. 

Effective Oct. 16, Pope will join Covering Climate Now (CCNow), a group that fosters climate change coverage and helps newsrooms train reporters in climate issues. He co-launched CCNow with Mark Hertsgaard, the environment correspondent for The Nation, in 2019.

CCNow claims to work with more than 600 news outlets reaching more than 2 billion people. 

“This is the moment for newsrooms worldwide to commit to giving the climate crisis the coverage it demands,” Pope says. “There’s no time to waste, and I look forward to devoting all of my energies to helping make that happen.”

Prior to joining CJR, Pope worked as a senior editor at The Wall Street Journal, Conde Nast, and The New York Observer.

He has also served as board chair as well as chair of the CCNow Journalism Awards. 

“Kyle is one of the most creative, principled, and far-sighted journalists I’ve ever worked with,” says Hertsgaard, who serves as executive of CCNow.

Hertsgaard adds, “Without his wisdom, humor, and problem-solving skills, CCNow would not have achieved so much, so fast. Bringing him on staff will enable CCNow to be of even greater service to fellow journalists everywhere as we all work to tell the climate story with the urgency and impact this historical moment calls for.”