Newstex publishers' stories: Sophie Davies from Gas Outlook

Finding a niche

What gap in the gas-energy news field are you looking to cover with Gas Outlook?

Sophie Davies from Gas Outlook: Gas Outlook was founded just over four years ago to provide an alternative to traditional industry publication-style reporting on the gas industry. We provide unbiased, accurate news and analysis on the realities of the energy transition. We often focus on topics, especially in our investigative Long Reads, that are under-reported, which means we don't just cover the markets but also geopolitical, social, and climate issues stemming from the world's production of gas.

How is the process usually to turn an idea into a full article?

Sophie Davies: Currently we have a network of ten correspondents based across the globe, who follow gas developments in their patch then pitch ideas to me. I then decide whether it’s an idea that suits our coverage based on a number of criteria, including the size and scope of the project, the angle and uniqueness of the pitch, its suitability for our international readership, and so on. In the case of our longer investigative pieces, the process is sometimes longer. This is particularly the case if we are planning a story that involves multiple freelance writers, videographers or photographers, and lots of travel.

Looking ahead

What’s one goal you hope Gas Outlook reaches by the end of next year?

Sophie Davies: In its first four years since launch, Gas Outlook has expanded rapidly and is now growing organically, with far less need for us to invest money in promoting our content. I hope that the momentum we have built up continues and that we will remain to be seen as a reliable source of unbiased energy news for companies, policymakers and all those invested in the energy transition.

If you could expand into a new format (podcast, video, live events), what would you pick?

Sophie Davies: We have experimented with some very early-stage video work, and this is something I’d love to expand. On the two occasions we have tested video work — while at COP28 in Dubai and during a reporting trip to Mexican LNG terminals last year — the results were outstanding, bringing a massive spike in readership. Dynamic video content is definitely an area that holds a lot of promise for us, but one that also requires extra time, money, and resources.

Sources of inspiration 

What inspired you to work in the publishing/media industry?

Sophie Davies: I have always had a passion for in-the-field reporting that exposes an injustice or helps to highlight the strife of a marginalised community, but those reporting jobs are hard to come by. So my first journalism jobs in London were energy and finance reporting beats in London at S&P Global Platts, Thomson Reuters and a few others. Then I moved on to writing about humanitarian, climate and social issues for the Thomson Reuters Foundation for several years, from Brazil and then Spain, where I am still based. My role as editor of Gas Outlook enables me to synthesise my business writing and climate/humanitarian background, which is something I am very privileged to be able to do.

Where do you find your best story ideas—events, press releases, reader tips?

Sophie Davies: The best Gas Outlook content in my view always comes from events-based reporting, be that from conferences or from reportage trips. Our North America Correspondent, Nick Cunningham, has done some phenomenal reporting from the heartlands of the U.S. and Canadian fossil fuels industry, which have broken new ground by interviewing people and communities that otherwise wouldn’t have had a voice. Our Africa Correspondent, Samuel Ajala, has also written some pioneering Long Reads for us into the health impacts on children of gas flaring in the Niger Delta, for instance, and the downtrodden Nigerian female farmers whose once-fertile farmlands have turned barren due to oil pollution following the exit of oil major Shell.

What do you like most about creating digital content?

Sophie Davies: I like that, unlike with traditional print media, we can plan multi-platform digital campaigns to promote our content and also produce richer digital content, that includes video, audio, infographics and so on. It’s really exciting that just one story can be experienced in so many different ways.

Partnering with Newstex

What gap in the gas-energy news field are you looking to cover with Gas Outlook?

‍Sophie Davies: We were attracted to the prestigious third-party content platforms that have partnered up with Newstex, which fit well with our reader profile. We're very grateful for the opportunity to expand our influence globally.

Sophie Davies is the Editor of Gas Outlook, based in Barcelona. She previously reported on finance, energy and humanitarian news and features from London, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro for S&P Global Platts and Thomson Reuters, and has seen her freelance stories published by The Financial Times and The Economist, among others.

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