34 Publications that Pay for Pop Culture Writing

On a lighter note, this week’s roundup is a list of publications that pay for writing on pop culture.

We’ve researched payment rates and contact information for these publishers, so you can easily contact the right editor.

This is curated from our members-only database of publishers. A quick search of our database pulls up over 100 publishers that match the keywords “op-ed” or “opinion.”

If you want full access to the database, be sure to become a paid Litworth subscriber.

If you’re new to pitching, I encourage you to spend time carefully studying the publications you would like to write for. Learn their style, how they’re organized, the types of writing they publish, and even the general lengths of the articles they publish. Also, pay special attention to the way they write article titles, as this is often vital to the pitch writing process.

Once you’re familiar with the publication, you can brainstorm ideas, and then carefully craft a short pitch to the appropriate editor at the publication. For paid subscribers, feel free to send me a draft pitch, and I’ll give you my feedback.

1. Obsessed is a pop culture publication from The Daily Beast. They are “always looking for reactions, explainers, interviews, reviews, and opinion pieces.” Pay rates start at $250 per article. To learn more, read their pitching guidelines here.
2. Popverse is a modern entertainment brand that covers TV, movies, comics, creators, and conventions. They welcome pitches from freelancers. They’re seeking in-depth analyses on major projects in comics, movies, TV, and games; personal stories that would be evocative to their readership; and captivating interviews/conversations with pop culture personalities. Their standard rate is $100 per article (1,000-1,800 words). They might pay $150 or more for in-depth interviews or deeper original reporting and $50 or $75 for exceptionally short write-ups. To learn how to write for them, refer to this page.
3. Inverse covers science, innovation, entertainment, gaming, and the mind and body. According to their senior entertainment editor, they pay $0.50 per word. To find the right editor to pitch, refer to this page.
4. Dirt is a newsletter about digital pop culture. They cover books, streaming, music, style, fashion, blockchain, and the internet. Their pieces are generally around 500 to 800 or 800 to 1,000 words. Standard rates begin at $0.50 per word, negotiable for reported pieces. Rates for Q&As are $0.30 per word. Send your pitches to editors@dirt.fyi. For details, read their pitch guidelines.
5. The Ringer is a major website covering sports and pop culture. They are owned by Vox Media. They also host a wide variety of podcasts. They pay professional rates for the writing they publish. You can send a pitch to their editor here.
6. BUST seeks to bring a feminist perspective to a wide array of topics, from fashion to pop culture to personal stories. They have different categories in which your story idea can fall such as Broadcast (250-350 words), Real Life (250-350 words), You Go, Girl (Travel) (1000-1500 words) and more. Pay varies but reports estimate it to be around $50 to $100. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
7. Popdust is a website about music, entertainment, and pop culture. Payment reports indicate that they pay up to $150 per piece. To learn more about them and to contact them, refer to this page.
8. Anime Feminist publishes articles based on ‘feminist critique’ and ‘diverse opinions’ combined with Anime, Manga and other forms of Japanese Pop Culture. Your proposals should fit into one of the following categories: Analysis (Features), Creator Spotlight, Interview, History, My Fave is Problematic, Perspectives, Versus. They encourage pitches from contributors aged 21 or older. Word count is between 1,200 and 2,000 words.  They pay $75 per article. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
9. Junkee is an Australian pop culture website that covers TV, film, music, gaming, technology, politics, web stuff, and more. They are always seeking ideas from new content creators. According to their editor, they pay $200 per piece. To learn more about them and to contact them, visit this page.
10. Romper is a website for millennial moms. They accept pitches for timely essays, personal essays, pop culture articles, health reporting, investigative reports, and more. According to an old payment report, they paid $150 for a profile or interview of about 1,000 words. To learn more, visit their how-to pitch page.