Mother Nature Network
Mother Nature Network was a news and information website focused on sustainability and ranked by Alexa Internet as the most visited for-profit website in the world in its environmental category. It was labeled "the green CNN" by Time magazine, "green machine" by the Associated Press, and "best of the breed" by Fast Company. Founded in 2009 by former marketing executive Joel Babbit and Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell, it was the flagship property of Narrative Content Group, whose equity partners included CNN and Discovery Inc.
MNN generated revenue via exclusive content category sponsorships versus the traditional advertising model utilized by most websites. Brand partners included Walmart, Mercedes-Benz, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, UPS, Allstate, Dell, Subway, MillerCoors, Bayer, Dunkin' Brands, and many other leading corporations. In February of 2020, Narrative sold Mother Nature Network and TreeHugger, another of its sustainability focused websites acquired from Discovery, to digital media company Dotdash, an operating business of IAC. The two sites were then merged and operate under the Treehugger name.
Content
It covered a wide range of topics beyond traditional "green" issues – including family, pets, travel, health, home, and food.Board of directors and advisors
- Joel Babbit, CEO of Narrative Content Group and Mother Nature Network
- Thomas Bell Jr., Chairman of Mesa Capital Partners
- Gerald Benjamin, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Atlanta Equity
- A.D. "Pete" Correll, Co-founder and Chairman of Atlanta Equity
- Doug Hertz, CEO of United Distributors Inc. and Partner in the Atlanta Falcons
- Chuck Leavell, Keyboardist for the Rolling Stones
- James D. Robinson III, Co-founder and General Partner of RRE Ventures, LLC
- Fred Seegal, Vice Chairman of Peter J. Solomon Company
Nonprofit partners
MNN worked with a wide range of nonprofit organizations, including:- American Farmland Trust
- Captain Planet Foundation
- Nature Conservancy
- National Wildlife Federation
- Newman's Own Foundation
- UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
- White House Correspondents' Association