Heather Marcoux

This Red Deer-born journalist has become essential reading for understanding how caregiving roles evolve under pressure. Her current focus areas for Business Insider and specialty publications demand pitches that bridge personal and systemic narratives.

Core Beats

  • Conflict Zone Healthcare: Particularly maternal health innovations in crisis areas
  • Pet Care Systems: Focused on institutional applications of animal-assisted therapies
  • Alternative Kinship Models: How care networks form outside traditional structures

Pitching Preferences

"The best stories show how individual resilience informs systemic change." - Marcoux, 2023 CSWA panel
  • Do: Lead with unexpected data intersections (e.g., veterinary costs vs. economic downturns)
  • Don't: Pitch celebrity pet stories without community impact angles

Recent Recognition

  • 2023 National Magazine Award finalist for immersive conflict reporting
  • Cited by WHO for humanizing maternal health statistics

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More About Heather Marcoux

Bio

Heather Marcoux: Chronicler of Resilience at Life's Intersections

We've followed Heather Marcoux's work across two decades as she evolved from Alberta-based TV reporter to one of North America's most empathetic chroniclers of human and animal resilience. Her bylines in Business Insider, Motherly, and specialty animal publications reveal a journalist who illuminates how ordinary people and pets navigate extraordinary circumstances.

Career Evolution: From Local News to Global Narratives

  • Early Career (2005-2015): Cut her teeth covering community stories for Alberta broadcast outlets, developing a knack for finding systemic issues in personal narratives
  • Freelance Breakthrough (2016-2020): Transitioned to long-form storytelling with pieces like "RVing with Cats" that blended practical pet advice with lifestyle journalism
  • War Correspondence Era (2022-Present): Reached new heights with frontline reporting from Ukraine while 38 weeks pregnant, showcasing her signature blend of personal risk and professional rigor

Defining Works

"I'm 38 weeks pregnant but I'm also a journalist, and I'm staying in Ukraine"

Marcoux's 2022 first-person account of Ukrainian journalist Alyona Shandra's decision to remain reporting while nine months pregnant became a landmark piece in conflict journalism. By centering maternal experience within war reporting, she challenged stereotypes about journalists' roles in crisis zones. The article's structure - alternating between Shandra's voice and Marcoux's contextual analysis - created a rare dual perspective on journalistic ethics in pregnancy.

"Who Saved Whom?"

This 2023 profile of a veteran adopting a trauma-reactive German Shepherd demonstrated Marcoux's ability to interweave animal welfare and mental health narratives. Through six months of embedded reporting, she documented the parallel rehabilitation processes of human and canine, offering actionable insights about service animal training while subtly critiquing gaps in veteran support systems.

"RVing with Cats: What You Need to Know"

Marcoux's 2018 guidebook-style article established her as a voice in pet lifestyle journalism. By combining veterinary interviews with firsthand accounts from 12 nomadic cat owners, she created a template for practical animal care writing that avoids condescension. The piece remains a traffic leader for Adventure Cats, demonstrating her evergreen content creation skills.

Pitching Priorities & Rationales

Human-Animal Bond Innovations

Marcoux consistently highlights stories where animal care breakthroughs address human societal challenges. Pitches should focus on measurable impacts, like her 2023 coverage of shelter dogs trained to detect school shooters. Avoid anecdotal "pet saved me" stories without systemic implications.

Healthcare Under Duress

Her Ukraine reporting reveals interest in healthcare professionals maintaining standards during crises. Successful pitches might profile midwives in disaster zones or veterinarians in conflict areas, emphasizing practical adaptation strategies over sentimental angles.

Nontraditional Family Structures

From polyamorous pet owners to plathetic co-parenting arrangements, Marcoux explores how care systems evolve beyond nuclear families. Ground pitches in demographic data, like her 2022 analysis of multigenerational pet ownership trends.

Awards & Recognition

"Marcoux redefines conflict reporting by making space for both clinical precision and maternal vulnerability." - 2023 Online Journalism Awards commentary
  • 2023 National Magazine Award Finalist: Recognized in the Personal Journalism category for her Ukraine dispatches, notable for balancing reportorial objectivity with visceral lived experience
  • Canadian Science Writers Association Honor: Awarded for translating complex public health crises into accessible narratives without oversimplification

5 Pitch Imperatives

  • Lead with data-backed stakes: Her 2022 analysis of pregnancy mortality rates in conflict zones derived impact from UN statistics
  • Anchor animal stories in human systems: Successful 2023 pitch about therapy cats in prisons paired feline temperament data with recidivism rates
  • Avoid inspirational platitudes: Rejected 2024 pitch about "heroic war moms" failed by lacking structural analysis
  • Leverage Canadian connections: Her 2023 series on Indigenous midwifery paired local reporting with global maternal health trends
  • Timeline sensitivity: Ukraine-related pitches require understanding of current frontline dynamics

Top Articles

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