Pitch Writer

✳️ Attention all journalists! Grist is seeking pitches about the future of transportation. ✳️

Transportation is the largest source of climate pollution in the United States, accounting for roughly one-third of all emissions. America’s 284 million gas-powered vehicles consume more than 376 million gallons of gasoline each day, while airplanes burn nearly 71 million gallons daily. In short: The world cannot address the climate crisis without radically transforming how we move around.

Grist is developing a solutions-focused package exploring how the United States can break its reliance on fossil-fuel-powered transportation — and what a better system might look like.

We’re looking for place-based stories that examine real-world progress, reveal barriers to change, and provide lessons other communities can use. We welcome ideas of all formats — features, reported essays, multimedia, etc — and lengths. And we are equally interested in stories from and for rural and suburban communities, not just urban ones.

We all have unique experiences, perspectives, and ideas about how we move around in the world. We want to hear them. Journalists, please send pitches to pitches@grist.org with the subject line, “Transportation package — TK YOUR IDEA.” The deadline to send ideas is Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Note: No PR pitches, please.)

For more details on the package and what we're looking for, visit.

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Call for pitches: Rethinking how America moves

Transportation is the largest source of climate pollution in the United States, accounting for roughly one-third of all emissions. America’s 284 million gas-powered vehicles consume more than 376 million gallons of gasoline each day, while airplanes burn nearly 71 million gallons daily.

The world cannot address the climate crisis without radically transforming how we move around. That pressure, along with rising costs, new technologies, and a growing desire to rethink where and how we live, are already sparking a shift: Consumers are embracing electric vehicles. Communities are reclaiming streets and promoting walkability. Governments are directing billions toward bike networks, buses, and light rail.

But big changes can spark a big backlash. Federal support for remaking our transportation system changes with every presidential administration. Frontline communities, long burdened by pollution and underinvestment, risk once again being left behind. And any attempt to change how Americans move runs up against a century-long prioritization of — and attachment to — the automobile. 

This spring, Grist surveyed our audience and the audiences of our local newsroom partners, as well as held conversations with people from all over the country, to find out their questions, ideas, and concerns about transportation issues in their communities. The information they shared has inspired us to develop a solutions-focused package exploring how the United States can break its reliance on fossil-fuel-powered transportation — and what a better system might look like. 

We’re looking for place-based stories that examine real-world progress, reveal barriers to change, and provide lessons other communities can use. We welcome ideas of all formats — features, essays, cultural commentary — and lengths. 

Please send pitches to pitches@grist.org with the subject line, “Transportation package — TK YOUR IDEA.” The deadline to send ideas is Wednesday, June 10, 2026.

What we’re looking for

We want stories that show how transportation and mobility are changing — and what it takes to make those changes work.

Strong pitches will:

• Focus on real-world efforts that are underway or tested
• Show how and why something works (or doesn’t)
• Grapple with tradeoffs and tensions
• Offer lessons that apply beyond the community featured in the story
• Surprise and delight us

We are primarily focused on the United States, but we’ll consider stories from elsewhere if they offer clear, transferable insights that are applicable here.

Areas of interest

Just a few of the topics we’re interested in, inspired by our conversations with readers:

• How communities of all sizes and locations are creatively developing, funding, and carrying out affordable transportation improvements and progress
• Stories from and for rural and suburban communities, not just urban ones 
• How to make mass transit more appealing
• Decarbonizing transportation in car-dependent places
• Decarbonizing or cleaning up aviation
• How to make rail a viable long-distance transit solution
• Equity and access — who benefits from this transition, and who doesn’t
• Cultural shifts in Americans love of cars, or how Americans think about driving and mobility
• Barriers to EV adoption and the best ways to remove them
• Emerging transit technologies
• The climate impacts of the transportation sector

How to think about your pitch

A strong pitch will provide answers to some of these questions:

• What does it take to change how people get around in a specific place?
• Why has one approach succeeded where others have failed?
• What are the hidden barriers — political, financial, cultural — to making change stick?

We’re looking for thoughtful, insightful stories. 

What we don’t want:

• Generic EV explainers or stories that assume EVs are the answer for everyone
• Purely speculative pieces
• Stories that ignore real-world constraints, including financial or logistical ones. 

• Stories that deal with shipping. This package is focused on how people move around.

What to include

Please submit a one-page pitch that includes:

• A clear thesis
• A brief summary
• The sources you plan to interview
• Any scenes or moments you expect to include
• Clips that demonstrate your reporting and writing chops

If you have an idea, we’d love to hear it.