Independent Cinema Office is “the national organisation for the development and support of independent film exhibitions throughout the UK.” The ICO blog brings the latest ideas from the world of cinemas and film festivals, as well as industry updates, best practice tips, opinion pieces and interviews. According to their guidelines, they pay 19p/word for articles of 800 to 1,200 words. For details, refer to their blog guidelines.
The i Paper is a British national newspaper. They are looking for pitches for their opinion, features, and arts sections. A payment report indicates pay of $0.36 for a 700-word news story, but current pay rates are not clear. To learn more, refer to the pitching guidelines.
The Washington Post is a daily newspaper published in Washington, DC. They welcome opinion article submissions. They only consider completed articles. The recommended length is 750 to 800 words. They do not consider articles that have also been sent to other publications or posted online, including on a personal blog, nor do they consider anonymous or pseudonymous submissions. They do not list pay rates publicly, but according to a payment report, they paid $0.54 per word for a 1200-word news story. To learn more, visit this page.
Xtra is a Canada-based digital magazine and community platform that covers LGBTQ2 politics, culture, sex, love, and health. They tell stories in multiple ways: “short and long features, profiles, Q&As, essays, opinion pieces, explainers, video documentaries, and podcasts.” A tweet by their senior editor indicated that a payment of CAD 400 is the usual base rate for a short-reported story with limited sourcing. Payment reports indicate pay of around $0.34 per word. To learn how to pitch them, refer to this page.
National Catholic Reporter (NCR) is a biweekly newspaper that reports on “the Catholic Church and justice issues.” They want hard news and sharp features, book reviews, and commentaries. Their news and features are typically 1,000 - 1,200 words and commentaries are around 700-1,200 words. They don’t publish poetry or fiction. You must pitch first. According to a deleted tweet from their opinion editor, they normally pay $150 to $250 for 800 to 900 words. For details, refer to their submission guidelines.
Asparagus Magazine is a publication that is “dedicated to telling the large and small stories of how we can live sustainably, from an environmental, social, and cultural perspective.” Their “audience is primarily on the West Coast, and located in both Canada and the US.” They are seeking traditionally reported feature journalism, creative non-fiction, and personal essays/opinion pieces on environmental and social justice topics. They are interested in pieces between 800–1,500-word range and some features with exceptions that run into 2,000-3,000-words. According to their guidelines, they pay an average of C$0.25/word. They get funding from the Canadian government that requires them to prioritize Canadian creators. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
The Gumbo is a hip-hop social club for and by Black women. They accept pitches for opinion and personal pieces. Their content is pegged to their editorial theme which varies monthly. According to an old tweet, they pay $175 for pieces of 750 to 1,000 words. To learn more, refer to their submissions guide.
OkayAfrica is a media company that connects a global audience to Africa. They cover culture, music, dance, style, visual art, politics, and health. They have previously indicated the general formats they would like for stories to be interviews, service journalism, opinion pieces/personal essays, short features, longer features, and video/photo/socials. According to an old tweet from their director of editorial operations, in the past, they have paid $150 to $200 for straightforward pieces. As per a payment report from 2023, they paid $0.25 per word for a 1000-word news story. Their pitch guide has been removed, but you can contact them here.
HuffPost is a news and opinion website. They are seeking to elevate writers from a wide range of backgrounds, including those who are BIPOC, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, and writers from other underrepresented communities. They publish freelance work across a wide range of topics, from politics to food and drink. According to a deleted tweet, they may pay at least $350-$400 per story. To learn more, refer to their pitch guide.
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.
Devex is a media platform and social enterprise that connects and informs over 1 million development professionals worldwide. They are looking for guest columns, opinion pieces, and op-eds. According to both a payment report and to their associate editor’s old tweet, they pay $0.50 per word. To learn more, refer to their guidelines and to their website.
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.
Balkan Insight is the flagship English-language website of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). They offer news, analysis, investigations, features, profiles, and interviews on key issues in Southern and Eastern Europe. They welcome proposals for commentary and opinion pieces for their Reporting Democracy, a cross-border journalistic platform dedicated to exploring where democracy is headed across large parts of Europe. According to their pitch guide, the standard rate for a commentary piece written by experts at think tanks, research institutes, non-governmental organisations, academic institutions or government is 100 euros. For journalists, they state that they pay a competitive rate for feature stories, news analysis, interviews, videos and investigations on issues affecting the state of democracy in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Guardian is “the world's leading liberal voice, since 1821.” They cover news, opinion, sport, culture, and lifestyle. According to their contributors’ guide, “unless you are already an established contributor, it is most unlikely that the editor will ‘order’ or commission a contribution from you.” A payment reports indicates that they paid $0.38 per word. You can also check out their rates in the ''fees'' section here. For more details, refer to their contributors' guide.
Scientific American covers science discoveries and technology innovations. They “welcome ideas for articles on recent scientific discoveries, technical innovations and overviews of ongoing research.” The average length of their articles is about 2,000 to 4,000 words. They also welcome opinion and analysis (1,000 words). A payment report indicates that they paid $0.50 per word. For details, refer to this page.
The Los Angeles Times covers news, politics, entertainment, sports, food, climate, environment, and more from Southern California and the world. They welcome opinion articles on any subject. Submissions must be exclusive to them, and most articles are 750 words. According to an old payment report, they paid $1.00 per word. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Wall Street Journal provides coverage of news, business, politics, technology, real estate, arts, culture, and more from the US and around the world. They prefer submissions of 400 to 1,000 words. They do not list pay rates, but according to payment reports, they pay an average of $0.75 per word. To learn more, refer to their op-ed guidelines.
Geology for Investors offers “exclusive daily evaluations and opinion of junior mining company press releases and projects.” They are always seeking writers who have a strong geology, mining and/or exploration background to write original articles for their website. According to their guidelines, they typically pay $0.10 to $0.25 per word. Details here.
Wine Enthusiast is ‘’the premier source for all things wine, creating and delivering unique wine-lifestyle products and content that inspires and empowers everyone to enjoy wine to its fullest.’’ They accept pitches for breaking news, news-driven features, trend-driven features, profiles, first-person opinion pieces, explainers, reported listicles, travel guides, recipes, and pairing guides. According to their pitch guide, digital rates begin at $0.50/word.
HuffPost is a news and opinion website. They publish freelancer work across a wide range of topics, including national and politics, huffpost personal, culture, and life. Pay rates are not mentioned. To pitch them, refer to this page.
Hostelling International Canada is a not-for-profit network of hostels in Canada. They are seeking pitches for their online magazine. They publish 5 types of articles: travel stories, lists, opinion pieces, tips, and guides. According to an old tweet, they generally pay $70 to $200 CAD per article. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Irish Times covers news, business, sport, life, style, culture, weather, and more in Ireland. Payment rate is not mentioned on their website. They are looking for opinion pieces usually between 850 and 950 words long. To learn more, refer to their op-ed submission guidelines.
VAN Magazine is an online classical music magazine. They are always looking for exciting and insightful classical music journalism. Suggested word limit is 1,000-2,000–word range. They publish interviews or profiles, reports, essays, opinion, reviews, rankings & roundups, and playlists. According to their guidelines, rates start at €150. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
The Financial Times is a global news organization that provides insight into markets and politics around the world. They accept guest submissions (of up to 800 words) for the opinion section of their newspaper and website. According to a payment report, they paid $0.41 per word. To learn more, refer to their old write for us page.
Religion Unplugged is a news organization that covers religion stories around the world. They publish at least one story each day on their website. According to their pitch guide, their pay rates vary by department: News features (over 1,000 words): $300, Opinion and essays: $200, Film and TV reviews: $200, Art reviews: $200, Book reviews: $200. For more details, check out their submission guidelines.
FanSided is “one of the fastest growing network of fandom-focused sports, entertainment and lifestyle sites on the internet.” They cover NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, CFB, CBB, MMA, golf, racing, fantasy, gaming, movies, TV, tech, food, and more. They are open to pitches for opinion columns, essays, detailed analysis, interviews, reported features, cultural criticism related to the world of sports, fan fiction any anything else you might dream up related to the world of sports. According to an old payment report, they paid $0.01 per word. Current rates are not clear. To contact them, refer to their pitch guide.
The Electronic Intifada is an online news publication that focuses on Palestine. They are seeking text and visual contributions. They are particularly interested in pieces by contributors in Palestine. They are looking for reportages of 800-1,500 words, which are eligible for payment. Opinion pieces and first-person writing are generally not eligible for payment. They are also generally not able to pay for cold submissions (stories not pitched in advance). Payment reports indicate that they pay up to $0.33 per word. To learn more, visit this page.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun is a website that offers PC gaming news, reviews, previews, and opinion. They are currently looking for community reports, interview-led features, reviews, lists, and “spawn point” articles. According to their pitch guide, they pay a standard rate of £200 for articles of 1,000 to 1,500 words. They may pay £250 for reviews of particularly long games or interviews of multiple subjects. They are not always open to pitches. Details here.
Merry Jane is a digital media platform that covers all things cannabis. They offer news, information, and opinion on cannabis products, dispensaries, community, and events. According to an old payment report, they paid $0.25 per word. To contact their editors, visit this page.
Boulder Weekly is an independently owned newspaper that provides “alternative and irreverent news coverage to Boulder County.” They cover news, politics, arts, culture, music, food, and more. They accept exclusive guest opinions from the local community on a variety of topics; ideally, columns would be 500-750 words. According to an old payment report, they paid $0.03 per word. To pitch them, refer to this page.