35 Publications that Pay for Reporting

Today, for our latest roundup of publishers, we have a list of 35 publications that pay for reporting across a wide variety of categories, including health, video games, and design, among many others.

We’ve researched payment rates and found contact information for all of these publishers, to make it easy for you to connect with the right opportunity.

If you want to browse even more opportunities, be sure to check out our database of over 1,500 publishers that pay writers. It’s easily searchable, and includes thousands of listings just like the ones below.

If you’re new to freelancing, I also very much encourage you to take our course on pitching. You can get the details here.

1. STAT delivers trusted and authoritative journalism about health, medicine, and the life sciences. They’re looking for ideas that check the boxes of a great STAT story: smart, compelling, original reporting that takes readers inside the world of health, medicine, and scientific discovery. They’re especially interested in features, trend stories, and in-depth analysis. According to their pitch guide, they generally pay $1 per word, and might pay more for a story in certain circumstances, such as if a piece requires an unusually extensive amount of reporting. To learn more, refer to this page.

2. Aftermath is a worker-owned site focused on video games and internet culture. They accept pitches from both new and established writers. Free from the pressures of SEO, traffic, and the latest big game, they want stories that highlight important, under-explored facets of gaming and technology, as well as stories that hold powerful figures to account. According to their pitch guide, rates are $300 for shorter pieces, and $500 for pieces involving more in-depth reporting and analysis. Interested writers can send their pitches to mail@aftermath.site. To learn more, refer to their pitch guide.

3. Intervenxions is a publication of the Latinx Project at New York University committed to “exploring contemporary Latinx art, politics, and culture.” They publish “reviews, criticism, reporting, interviews, and essays on U.S. Latinx art, politics, and culture between 1,500 and 2,500 words.” According to their guidelines, they pay $300 for reviews, interviews, and short essays, and $400 for articles, profiles, and long-form content. To learn more, refer to their editorial guidelines.

4. The Sunday Long Read is a newsletter that shares the week’s best longform journalism with readers every Sunday. They are looking for longform nonfiction in its many forms. They want ”you to do reporting and talk to people.” They also produce their own stories. They publish 5 to 10 original longform articles a year. According to their guidelines, their floor for reported longform stories (over 2,000 words) is $2,000. They might cover the expenses too. For details, refer to their pitch guide.

5. Bolts is “a digital magazine that covers the nuts and bolts of power and political change, from the local up.” They’re always seeking freelancers to report on stories related to voting rights and criminal justice across the US. Most of the stories they publish involve original reporting, and according to their pitch guide, they pay $800. They currently do not publish personal essays or op-eds. To learn more, refer to this page.

6. Hothouse is a climate focused newsletter that publishes investigative reporting about climate solutions. According to their guidelines, they pay $0.50 per word. They’re relatively new, but they have backing from Columbia University, the Solutions Journalism Network, and the Google News Initiative. To learn more, refer to this page.

7. Economic Hardship Reporting Project (EHRP) is a nonprofit organization that produces compelling journalism about income inequality and poverty in America. They commission “news stories, narrative features, short and feature-length documentaries, nonfiction comics, illustrated works, photo essays, podcasts and radio features about economic inequality in the United States. Personal essays are welcome only if they are completed or close-to-completed. According to their pitch guide, they pay $750 to $1500 for news stories, and up to $2,500 for narrative features and investigative reports. They generally pay $1.00 to $1.25 per word. They also have grants to cover travel expenses, up to $2,000. 

8. Design Observer is “a leading platform offering thought-provoking content on design, culture, and social innovation.” According to their guidelines, they offer a $150 honorarium for art-eds, op-eds, and essays (around 800 to 900 words). Rates begin at $1.50/word for commissioned short pieces that include original reporting and sourcing (usually 500 to 900 words). To learn more, refer to their call for pitches.