Sentient Media is a nonprofit environmentalist online news outlet focused on climate, livestock farming, food, health, and politics. The outlet criticizes the commercial farming industry for alleged animal cruelty and for contributing to climate change. According to tax filings, Sentient Media is supported by outside contributors, including the Craigslist Charitable Fund,  Builders Vision, and Vanguard Charitable. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Activities

Sentient Media is an environmentalism-focused nonprofit news outlet focused on climate, livestock farming, food, health, and politics. Sentient Media focuses on what it calls “the realities of our food system,” including alleged “racial and economic inequalities” in the food system along with research articles on food policies that it considers more humane and environmentally friendly. Founded in 2018, the publication claims to be a reader-supported outlet that rejects advertisers and is supported by readers. ^{1 6 7}

 

In 2023, Sentient Media claimed to reach 130 million readers, to have been republished over 300 times in other outlets, and to have appeared in the top search results on Google for over 15,000 search terms. Sentient Media claims that search queries such as “Why is eating meat bad for the environment” and “How does agriculture affect deforestation” on Google bring Sentient Media articles up as the first result. ⁶

Sentient Media also produces a newsletter called the Core, which provides weekly in-depth stories on the food system. ⁶

Additionally, Sentient Media has an editorial fellowship designed to benefit “historically marginalized” groups. The purpose of the fellowship is to raise public awareness about how the agricultural industry impacts what it calls “the climate crisis” and how there is “systemic exploitation” of those in the food production industry. The fellows work at Sentient Media for six months and receive $30,000. Fellows are required to write one to three stories per week, to assist with editorial duties, to curate stories for Sentient Media’s newsletter, and to write at least one feature story by the end of the fellowship. ^{6 3}

In August 2024, notable stories featured on Sentient’s website included pieces that reported on the “tremendous stress, injuries, and death” caused to animals in rodeos; a piece entitled “How Slaughterhouses Work: The Harsh Reality of Meat Production”; and a piece entitled “Humans Destroying Ecosystems: How to Measure Our Impact on the Environment.” ^{8 2 9}

Policies

In line with its environmentalist mission, Sentient Media urges its employees through its company policy to adopt environmentally conscious lifestyles. This includes urging employees to only travel using public transportation, walking, or cycling; conducting all meetings digitally instead of in person; encouraging all employees to work form home or, if employees prefer to work in a co-working space, that they travel to and from such a space through public transportation, walking, or cycling; holding no-in person events to reduce travel; and encouraging employees to not use paper and to drink tap water from reusable cups. ¹⁰

People

The executive director of Sentient Media is Ana Bradley. Bradley lives in London, England, and was previously the director at PYPR, a London-based digital agency, and digital director of Do It Now Now. ^{11 12}

The editor-in-chief of Sentient Media is Jenny Splitter. ¹²  Splitter lives in Washington, D.C. and was previously the founder and managing editor of SciMoms, and independent journalist and freelance contributor to Forbes. ¹³

Financials

According to tax filings, in 2022 Sentient Media reported $838,297 in revenue, $686,698 in expenditures, and $440,325 in total assets. ⁴

In 2022, Sentient Media reported the following contributors: New Crop Capital Trust ($250,000), the Greenbaum Foundation ($100,000), Walton Enterprises ($100,000), the University of Oxford ($66,000),  the Craigslist Charitable Fund ($30,000), the Buckmaster Foundation ($30,000), the Quinn Foundation ($25,000), the Summerlee Foundation ($24,000), Megan Nelson ($15,000), the Stray Dog Institute ($10,000), Adam Teper ($5,000), the Connolly Family Fund ($5,000), and Foundation Source Philanthropic ($5,000). ⁴

Other funders listed on Sentient Media’s website include Builders Vision, the Effective Altruism Animal Welfare Fund, and Vanguard Charitable. ⁵

1. “Sentient Media.” Sentient Media. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/.
2. Millstein, Seth. “How Slaughterhouses Work: The Harsh Reality of Meat Production.” June 11, 2024. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/slaughterhouses/.
3. “Fellowships.” Sentient Media. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/fellowships/.
4. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Sentient Media. 2022.
5. “Funding.” Sentient Media. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/funding/.
6. “Donate.” Sentient Media. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/donate/.
7. “Mission.” Sentient Media. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/mission/
8. Scott-Reid. “Why Rodeos Are Still Popular When Marine Parks and the Circus are Declining.” Sentient Media. July 31, 2024. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/why-rodeos-are-still-popular/.
9. Millstein, Seth. “Humans Destroying Our Ecosystem: How to Measure Our Impact on the Environment.” July 12, 2024. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/humans-destroying-ecosystems/
10. “Environmental Policy.” Sentient Media. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/environmental-policy/.
11. “Ana Bradley.” LinkedIn. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/anabradley/.
12. “People.” Sentient Media. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://sentientmedia.org/people/
13. “Jenny Splitter (She/Her).” LinkedIn. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennysplitter/.