Online Journalists Are Paid What

 

With all the buzz in the online world about making money online, the online journalist has plenty of work. But does it pay well? If not, why write it at all? This guide offers answers on pay scales for online journalist, coming from a professional journalist with over 600 articles published online and in print, in both newspapers and major news sites.

Online Journalists Are Paid What?

by Jacob Malewitz

There is something to be said for the hard work a journalist of any kind undertakes. Researching for  hours … developing killer leads … saying what they want … and wrapping it all up, paid so low! However, there is plenty of work for any journalist; the problem is most of these assignments will be on the lower end. A professional online journalist should, from the outset, strive for more than an extra penny a word for an article. 

Why? The poverty mentality of artists isn’t something to be proud of. There is plenty of work for online journalists that not only pays, but pays well. This guide offers regular pay scales for certain types of online journalists … which fields are hot … and which fields to avoid. First, the nature of the online journalist.

Have Fun!

Enjoy yourself while writing; take part in the whole movement toward online writing. And it is a powerful movement taking the world by storm. There are billions of pages online, millions of sites, and thousands of markets for the online journalist. The pay scale does matter, but having fun is underrated. Having fun while being paid high amounts is also a lost art.

So What Are They Paid?

Typically, online journalists will be paid per assignment or per article. For example, I was working with an online media company which owned over five brand name sites. They paid me on assignment, offering me a set amount for a 10-20 separate articles. The pay then was $15, which translated in terms of writing and editing to $25-30 an hour.  That’s still not very much, but many sites pay even less!

The other side of the scale is the big per article sales. These typically reach $50-300 at a minimum, but the more you are paid the better the writing is expected to be. Some markets for such work, and markets accepting articles and essays, includes “The Christian Science Monitor,” “Salon,” “Slate,” and just about every major news site online. Many news publications have separate sites with original articles;  two examples are “The Wall Street Journal” and “Newsweek.”  However, the bigger you go in terms of pay the more competition. Does that $15 sound better yet?

When to Take Low Paying Assignments:

$15 per short article is a good beginner rate. For beginning online journalists, used to work minimum wage jobs perhaps, it can lead to fat paychecks at the end of the week. One advantage is the quality of writing and the thoroughness of editing is less of a question. Keep typos to a minimum. Get lots of ideas. If you’re a writer with hundreds of ideas rolling around in your head, but still a beginner, a lower paying site could be a godsend.

However, if you would struggle to write 10-20 articles a week, and many writers would, aiming for bigger markets may help. In the beginning, getting the lower paying assignments helps with experience too.

When to Reject Rates:

However, the point is still to profit, to earn money online. Some sites will try and pay you $3 for an original journalism article, no matter the payout. Others will try and pay you in “Page Views” and offer no direct payments at all. 

Still others will take all your rights for the article away. Page view work is often a waste of time and resources. You want to be paid an article rate, even if it means selling all rights for an article. Reject just about every assignment you get that only pays in page views. One site that pays in both upfront payments, which are your single payments for an article, and page views is Associated Content. It’s a popular site where many online journalists began their careers. However, the pay is dismal.

Why Write Online Journalism?

Lastly is the fact there are hundreds of markets and dozens of them pay professional journalism rates. You can also expect far more “Work From Home” type of work as a online journalist. Even if you get hired as editor for a site, rarely will a move be necessary. Some are afraid they will get burned as online journalists. All the markets I mentioned do pay. You will sometimes get burned, so make a contact list of professional online journalist-buddies. Ask advice before you take on a big assignment from a company you’ve never heard of or looks suspect. Also, trust your instincts: if it sounds too good to be true …