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Outlet profile

Canary Media

U.S. left-leaning, climate-advocacy-adjacent

Owned byIndependent 501(c)(3) nonprofit; founded by RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) in 2021, fully spun off as independent on July 1, 2024; merged with Energy News Network (formerly a project of Fresh Energy, a Minnesota clean energy policy organization) on February 1, 2025
FundingFoundation grants — including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, U.S. Energy Foundation, and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation — plus earned income; annual operating budget approximately $3.2 million post-merger
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

Canary Media launched on April 6, 2021, when RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute), a Colorado-based clean energy think tank, created it as an independent newsroom to fill the void left by the closure of Greentech Media, which its owner Wood Mackenzie shut down earlier that year. The founding editorial team included Greentech Media veterans Eric Wesoff and Jeff St. John, along with prominent energy journalist David Roberts as editor-at-large. Although RMI served as the founding partner and primary funder, Canary Media maintained formal editorial independence from the outset. On July 1, 2024, the outlet completed a full organizational spin-off, becoming a standalone 501(c)(3) nonprofit with no ongoing affiliation with RMI. On February 1, 2025, it merged with the Energy News Network (ENN), a 15-year-old regional energy news outlet that had operated under Fresh Energy, a Minnesota clean energy policy organization facing a budget shortfall. The combined newsroom has roughly 20 full-time staff — including 12 reporters and editors — and an annual budget of approximately $3.2 million, sustained largely by grants from foundations with climate and clean energy focuses. Canary Media's editorial record reflects a strong orientation toward accelerating decarbonization; it covers clean energy technology, markets, and policy, and since January 2025 has reported consistently and critically on Trump administration rollbacks of clean energy incentives, Department of Energy programs, and offshore wind development.

Sources

  1. RMI Launches Canary Media — RMI Press Release
  2. Canary Media Takes Flight, Becoming Independent of RMI
  3. Canary Media and ENN Merge — Canary Media Press Release
  4. Think tank launches climate news outlet powered by former Greentech Media staff — Axios
  5. How Trump gutted the team meant to build America's energy future — Canary Media
  6. How Trump's second term could derail the clean energy transition — Canary Media
  7. About — Canary Media
  8. Supporters — Canary Media

Profile compiled 2026-06-30; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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