Jessica Estepa – Reporter, Greenwire
2/2/2012
By Amanda Belo
When Jessica Estepa decided to leap into the New Year and join the environmental website, Greenwire, she knew the job would be a stark contrast from her work as an editorial assistant and features writer at Roll Call. As a new reporter for the site, she is geared up to dip her feet into new territory and be a part of “some of the best original environmental journalism in the country.”
Estepa is part of the clipping team and posts major happenings centered on energy and the environment. She writes four or five summaries and also reports and writes on assigned stories chosen by the editorial team.
“[I like] the variety of what I write on a day-to-day basis,” she said. “This week, I’m writing a story based on a recent report of the ivory trade, and I’ll be up on [Capitol] Hill covering a hearing. It’s a little different from the profiles, neighborhood news and gossip column tidbits I’ve spent the last year- and-a-half writing.”
She is also thrilled about the opportunity to be more involved in a specific area of coverage, versus the general assignments she was accustomed to at Roll Call.
“I’m working on carving out a beat on wildlife that will allow me to cover news and issues around the United States and on Capitol Hill,” she said. “It’s the first time I’ll really get to try my hand at policy reporting and developing a beat. Before, I mostly did a lot of general assignment stuff.”
Through the years, Estepa has never lost sight of those who guided her. She made it very clear that her continued evolution as a journalist is due to one particularly valuable insight she gained from the people and places encountered along the way.
“Each one of those positions taught me the same thing, which to me is the most important thing: It all comes down to community and audience. If you know who you’re writing for, then you (a) know what you should be writing about, and (b) can tailor your journalism to fit their needs. That in turn, produces good work.”
She also spoke highly of her mentors and icons as she recognized her high school journalism adviser, Carol Medcalf, that inspired her to stay on the journalism track; Debbie Bruno, formerly of Roll Call, who opened the door for Estepa and brought her back to the news industry; and Lane DeGregory of the Tampa Bay Times and Frank X. Mullenof the Reno Gazette-Journal, whose work she finds to be aspirational.
As an online resource, Greenwire is part of the digital media landscape that has impacted news collection and coverage. Estepa has found that with the array of content out there, Greenwire has an edge in environmental reporting.
“I work for a subscription-only publication. Being a niche publication helps because people are already paying to see your content. They want to see what you’re putting out there and opt for it because of its reputation.”
Aware of the positives and negatives that arise in online journalism, Estepa is still an advocate and avid user of digital platforms. She said that social media has changed media coverage in a variety of ways.
“If you’re in the breaking news side of things that means you’ll want to get it out there quickly. But on the flipside, you have to be wary. If you’re wrong, it will still spread. Deleting something doesn’t make it go away.”
She did bring up one major question that she has found to be important in the grand scheme of things.
“For me, the biggest thing in terms of the digital landscape is how do you reconcile online journalism with the business reality? …I wish I had an answer to that, but I think it’s something that all journalists need to think about moving forward.”
Pitching Tips
Estepa strongly advises PR professionals to take the time to think it out before they reach out.
“I think that before people pitch, they need to know who they are pitching to. I’ve received far too many phone calls from people who don’t know what a publication is about or what they cover, which ends up wasting both my time and theirs.”
She said that if pitches are e-mailed, they should be written well and with a strong appeal. “I get a lot of press releases that I don’t bother reading.”
She is open to pitches and can be contacted by e-mail or phone. Follow-ups are encouraged, but should not be incessantly bothersome.
Estepa can be followed on Twitter at @jmestepa.