25 Publications that Pay for Commentary Pieces

Here’s our latest research — a list of publications that accept commentary submissions from freelance writers.

We’ve researched payment rates, pitch guidelines, and more, to help you connect with the right editor.

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. Inkstick is “a nonprofit newsroom focused on endless war and all that it entails: the military industrial complex, growing authoritarianism, militarization of policing, borders everywhere, and human rights crises in the US and beyond.” They publish contributions in the following formats: commentary, essays, and reported articles. According to their managing editor, they typically pay $500 for a standard reported feature of about 1,200 words. To learn more, refer to their submissions page.

1. The Public Eye Magazine is published by the Political Research Associates, a social justice research and strategy center devoted to supporting organizations, civic leaders, journalists, and social sectors that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society. They publish original, long-form features, research-based analysis, and commentary on the U.S. and Global Right. They welcome pitches for long-form features, commentaries and short articles, interviews and reviews. According to their guidelines, they pay $350-$1,500, depending on the type of article. To learn more, refer to this page.

1. Creator Spotlight is a publication covering how creators build and manage their businesses. It includes a podcast and a twice-weekly newsletter. They are open to pitches, and some of the pieces they are interested in include trend analysis and industry commentary. Final pieces are between 750–1,500 words. According to their pitch guide, they pay $0.50 per word. To learn more, refer to this page.

1. Hammer & Hope is “a magazine of Black politics and culture.” Their aim is to “build a project whose politics and aesthetics reflects the electric spirit of the protesters who flooded the streets in 2020, a project that breathes life into the transformative ideas pointing us towards the world we deserve.” According to their pitch guide, they pay $1.00/word for commentary, $1.33/word for reported features, and $300/25 lines or less, with $6 each additional line for poems.

1. The New York Review of Architecture is “a cooperative of working writers, architects, and artists who review architecture in New York.” They are “particularly interested in pieces that break down architecture’s silos, tying together academia, practice, and the public we all serve.” They value writing that is critical and engaging. In general, they run “profiles, reviews of buildings, books, trends.” According to their pitch guide, their rates for essays and reportage start at $0.25 per word. Rates for commentary and review pieces start at $500. They also publish short, pithy reviews of shows, books, music, art, buildings, and other miscellany of between 100 and 200 words, for which they pay $100.

1. Balls & Strikes is “a site for critical, progressive, and bullshit-free commentary about courts, judges, and the legal system they uphold.” They’re always seeking new voices. Their coverage focuses on “the real-world consequences of what judges do, and not on parsing the precise jurisprudential philosophy they did or did not apply in order to arrive at a given result.” According to their pitch guide, rates are $500 for essays of around 1,000 words. If interested, send your pitches to pitches@ballsandstrikes.org. For more information, refer to this page.

1. The Real News Network is an independent, nonprofit news network that is focused on providing uncompromising and fact-based journalism. They cover politics, prisons and policing, racial justice, climate crisis, and economy and inequality. According to their pitch guide, they pay $250–$400 for Short News Article / Dispatch; $400–$600 for Standard Reported Story; $600–$1,200 for In-Depth Feature; $1,200–$2,000+ for Investigative Series or Special Assignment; and $200–$350 for Op-Ed / Commentary. To learn more, refer to this page.

1. 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.” According to the pitch guide, they pay competitively, but final rates will be at the discretion of the editorial staff. To learn more, refer to their pitching guide.