What Mountain Journal does

Mountain Journal is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) digital news magazine founded in 2017 and based in Bozeman, Montana. It publishes in-depth, fact-based journalism focused on wildlife, land use, climate, water, and human-nature issues affecting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the broader American West. The publication serves conservation-minded readers, regional stakeholders, and partner newsrooms seeking coverage unavailable from larger outlets.

The core product is the Mountain Journal website, a Newspack-powered digital publishing platform that organizes stories by category (Water, Wildlife, Environment, Endangered Species, Opinion) and region. Two add-on products extend the platform: a free semi-weekly email newsletter highlighting top stories and features such as the 'Faces of Climate' series, and the MoJo Book Club, a seasonal reading community with curated books, guided discussions, and online or in-person engagement. Reporting is led by Managing Editor Joseph T. O'Connor and produced by a small in-house team supplemented by award-winning freelance contributors including Robert Chaney, Amanda Eggert, Nick Mott, and Mark DeGraff.

Mountain Journal distributes content for free through its website, newsletter, social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky), and a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 syndication program. Revenue is generated exclusively through reader donations, foundation grants, and program support (e.g., Report for America); the organization does not run subscriptions, advertising, or paywalls, and explicitly declines donations from government and political entities.

Name

Mountain Journal

Legal name

Mountain Journal

Website

https://mountainjournal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mountain Journal is a Bozeman, Montana-based nonprofit digital news magazine publishing in-depth conservation journalism on wildlife, land use, climate, and water issues in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, distributed free via its website, newsletter, and partner newsrooms and funded by reader donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bozeman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Mountain Journal is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that relies on reader donations and support. The organization states that all stories are made available free to the public as a public service. Donations are accepted online or by check, with a donor transparency policy in place.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mountain Journal is a nonprofit digital news publication that provides free, fact-based reporting and analysis on wildlife, land use, water, climate, and conservation issues in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and American West. Its principal offerings are the Mountain Journal website and free newsletter, supplemented by the MoJo Book Club for reader engagement around conservation and Western literature.

Product overview

Mountain Journal is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) digital news publication offering a unified content platform focused on conservation journalism for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The core product is the Mountain Journal Website, which delivers fact-based reporting on wildlife, land use, climate change, water, and environmental issues. The publication supplements its main website with two additional offerings: the Mountain Journal Newsletter (a weekly email digest highlighting top stories and in-depth features) and the MoJo Book Club (a seasonal reading community with book selections, discussion questions, and community engagement). All content is made available free to the public as a public service. The publication is powered by Newspack.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mountain Journal Website A free nonprofit digital news publication providing fact-based reporting on conservation, wildlife, water, the environment, climate, and related issues in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and American West.
• Mountain Journal Newsletter A free email newsletter highlighting top stories, in-depth features, news, essays, the photo of the week, and content from the Faces of Climate series.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Montana Free PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMountain Journal operates in close collaboration with Montana Free Press (MTFP), a nonprofit news organization. Reporters like Nick Mott are described as 'MoJo/MTFP's Environmental Reporter.' The two organizations share staff and collaborate on coverage of environmental issues in Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
• High Country NewsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMountain Journal collaborates with High Country News on environmental reporting. Nick Mott is described as a 'Western Environmental Reporting Collaborative reporter for Mountain Journal and High Country News.' The partnership enables coverage of public lands and environmental issues across the Western United States.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Grist: National nonprofit environmental journalism outlet covering climate, energy, and sustainability. Comparable nonprofit donor-funded model with similar editorial focus on environmental and conservation topics.
• High Country News: Long-established nonprofit news outlet covering the American West's environment, communities, and public lands. Mountain Journal reporters participate in HCN's Western Environmental Reporting Collaborative, making it a direct operational and editorial peer.
• Inside Climate News: Nonprofit, Pulitzer-winning newsroom covering climate and energy policy. Similar nonprofit donor-funded model and audience of environmentally-engaged readers seeking in-depth reporting.
• The Narwhal: Nonprofit online magazine covering environmental stories across North America. Comparable mission-driven, donor-supported journalism model with similar investigative depth on conservation issues.
• Yale Environment 360: Editorially independent online magazine published by Yale School of the Environment covering global environmental issues. Comparable in-depth, long-form environmental journalism distributed free to readers.
• Montana Free Press: Nonprofit news organization covering Montana policy, politics, and environmental issues. Shares reporters with Mountain Journal (e.g., Nick Mott as 'MoJo/MTFP Environmental Reporter') and collaborates directly on coverage of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
• WyoFile: Nonprofit news outlet covering Wyoming, including environmental, energy, and public lands topics that overlap with Mountain Journal's Greater Yellowstone coverage area.

Emerging players

• Public News Service: Nonprofit state and national news service distributing free public-interest stories, including environmental coverage, to local media partners. Comparable nonprofit distribution model and partial topical overlap on conservation issues.

Broad incumbents

• The Guardian Environment: Global news outlet with a substantial environment and climate desk covering wildlife, conservation, and land-use issues. Comparable editorial beats but vastly broader scope and global distribution.
• ProPublica: Major nonprofit investigative newsroom with significant environmental and climate coverage. Overlaps with Mountain Journal in nonprofit funding model and public-interest investigative journalism, but operates nationally at much greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/themountainjournal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mountainjournal
• Instagraminstagram.com/themountainjournal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mountain Journal