Today, for our latest roundup of publishers, we have a list of 60 publications that pay for writing on general interest subjects, with a focus on news.
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.
So, without further ado, here’s today’s list…
- The Wire China is a weekly news publication focused on understanding and explaining China’s economic rise, and its influence on global business, finance, trade, labor and the environment. They accept pitches only for longform cover stories. They want big stories that give answers — and solutions. The articles run from 2,500 to 3,500 words. They list pay as “very competitive”, which presumably means they pay at least $1 per word, if not significantly more. To learn more, read their pitching guidelines.
- The Emancipator is a news publication focused on exploring solutions to racial inequality. They seek to reframe “conversations on racial inequity and accountability through evidence-based commentary, first-person essays, untold histories, and narrative features.” They state that they ‘’pay competitively, but final rates will be at the discretion of the editorial staff’’. To learn more, read their pitching guidelines page.
- Mother Jones is an investigative news organization. They report on politics, criminal and racial justice, democracy, human rights, education, climate change, food/agriculture, and more. They commission revelatory and dynamic stories that teach people something they didn’t already know. According to their pitch guide, print rates begin at $1.75/word, while their online rates begin at $0.75/word. For more details, read their freelance writer guidelines.
- Reasons To Be Cheerful publishes “stories of real solutions — successful endeavors to create marked changes that are improving the world today.” They want “surprising, unique, and under-the-radar stories” with “broad appeal.” Word length varies, from concise articles (600 to 800 words) to lengthier ones (1,000 to 2,500) words. Pay rates are not clear. To learn more, visit this page.
- The New York Times covers politics, business, technology, science, health, sports, arts, style, movies, travel, books, education, jobs, real estate, and more. They accept opinion essays (800 to 1,200 words). They do not list the pay rates for the essays publicly, but according to a payment report, they pay an average of $1.00 per word. Details here.
- Red Pepper is a website and quarterly print magazine of left politics and culture. They’re always seeking new writers and ideas. Articles for the print magazine are proactively commissioned according to the theme of the issue and written particularly with the magazine in mind. They, however, welcome pitches for their website content. They prioritise payment for articles to emerging and freelance writers, in particular, people on lower incomes and from backgrounds under-represented in the media. According to their pitch guide, they pay £60 to £90 for print. Our previous research indicated they may pay £62 for online articles, but current rates are not clear. Learn more here.
- New Lines is an American magazine that features best writing from around the globe. They publish “essays and reportage on a wide range of subjects that focus broadly on the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.” They also cover “politics, culture and controversies in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Russia and Central Asia, and conduct deep-dive investigative journalism based on open-source intelligence and leaked data.” As per an old tweet by their North Africa editor, they pay $800 for most of their essays. If interested, send your pitches and submissions to submissions@newlinesmag.com. To learn more, refer to this page.
- From Day One is a website and “conference series” that bills itself as a forum on corporate values. Their editorial focus is on “innovative ways for companies to forge stronger relationships with their employees, customers, and community.” According to their pitch guide, they pay $200 to $300 for articles 800 to 1,000 words, and sometimes more for reported articles. To learn more, read their pitching guidelines.
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