Here is a table summarising the data gathered as a result of my request to freelancers to tell me what they were paid by different publications. For more on the results, my wrap up is here, and a compilation of quotes is here.
| Publication | Rate per word | Rate per piece | Comments |
FAIRFAX MEDIA
| Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
(general and op ed copy) |
0-$1 a word
(Normally around 65c) |
Some authors are paid nothing. “Names” get up to $1 a word. Average seems to be around .60c a word with a number of writers saying it is not hard to push editors up to .75c a word | |
| Epicure (The Age) | 50c | Reprints in the Sydney Morning Herald paid another .15c per word | |
| Fairfax broadsheet travel supplements | 50-65c | ||
| Canberra Times | $150 for 850 word op ed | Hasn’t changed for ten years. | |
| Sunday Age | 50c | ||
| Age blogs | $200 for entry of about 600 words | ||
| Traveller Magazine | 75c or higher | ||
| National Times | zero | zero |
NEWS LIMITED
| The Australian (Health section) | .70c | ||
| The Australian (Review Section) | 65c | ||
| Weekend Australian Magazine | 70c-$1 | ||
| News.com.au | 60c | ||
| The Punch | 0 | 0 | The Punch has told some writers that it will pay “once it has good advertising revenue”. |
| Sun Herald (General and op ed) | 50c | ||
| Sunday News Ltd papers | $250 for 800 words; $800 if story runs in all 5 Sunday papers. | ||
| Body and Soul (insert in News Ltd papers) | 70c | ||
| Escape (insert in News Ltd papers) | $800 per 1000 word story if used nationally. $300 per state. |
OTHER NEWSPAPERS
| West Australian | $175 for articles under 500 words, and $200 for articles above 500 words |
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION
| ABC The Drum/Unleashed | $200 | Lobbyists, politicians and academics not paid | |
| ABC Science Online, Health Online etc | 30-75c | $140 for a 400 word story, double for longer pieces. |
ACP MAGAZINES*
| Good Health | 80c | Prefer to take material on spec. Usually works out but can be risky. | |
| Wheels Magazine | 75c | ||
| House and Garden | 75c | Columnists used to get $1 a word but this was recently cut to the normal word rate. | |
| Wondertime | 70c | ||
| Fernwood Magazine (ACP) | 65c |
* Other freelancers report that 50c a word is standard for most ACP Titles, and some report that they are paid $250 for articles of up to 1500 words.
PACIFIC MAGAZINES
| Home Beautiful (Pacific Publications) | 70-85c | Well known writers have been paid as much as $1 a word. |
OTHERS
| Readers Digest | $1-$1.20 | Very fussy on the editing | |
| G Magazine
(Eco Consumer Title) |
60c | ||
| Reed Business Magazines
(Australian Mining, Pharmacy News) |
70c | ||
| YL Your Life Choices Magazine | 40c | ||
| Medical Observer (weekly paper for GPs) | 70c | Pay only on published words, no matter what the commissioned length | |
| Law Society Journal | 60c | ||
| Practical Parenting Magazine | 50c | ||
| Yaffa Publishing (Digital Photography and Design, Capture) | 45c | ||
| TNT Backpackers Magazine | 25c | ||
| Australian Worker Magazine | 75c | ||
| Luxury Travel Magazine (Gadfly Media) | 60c | ||
| Edge Custom Media (various titles including Cruise Passenger Magazine) | 50c | ||
| Delicious Magazine | 65c | Pays expenses! | |
| Virgin Inflight Magazine | 65c | Recently dropped from 70c without explanation | |
| Get Up and Go Magazine | 40c | ||
| Holidays for Couples Magazine | 40c | ||
| Scientific American (USA based) | $1.50 | ||
| New Scientist Magazine
(UK based) |
(UK) .45p | ||
| Marie Clair | Up to $1 | ||
| Qantas Magazine | 75c-$1 | Highest rates are for specialist writers. | |
| Handyman Magazine (Readers Digest) | 60c-80c | Expect author to source pics | |
| My Child | 50c | Commisison big stories of 2000 words plus, often low research jobs written in first person. | |
| Country Style Magazine | 65c | ||
| Limelight Magazine | $600 for a 1200 word story with photos | ||
| Vacation and Travel Magazine | $500 per 1500 words story with pics | ||
| Outback magazine | $350 per page, including photos |
SMALL, NOT FOR PROFIT, LITERARY AND INDEPENDENT
| Eureka Street
(Jesuit Publications) |
$200 flat rate for articles
$100 for book reviews |
||
| The Monthly | $1 | Point of pride that all writers are paid this flat rate – but hard to get in to. | |
| Inside Story
(Online journal published by Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology) |
50c-75c | “decent and satisfactory” | Online publication, but some material republished in Canberra Times. |
| Crikey.com.au | 0 to $200 per piece. | Some regular contributors on retainers. Some Crikey bloggers paid bonuses on site traffic. | |
| Griffith Review | $0-$1 | Sliding scale, depending on depth of research required. Academics etc paid less or not at all. |
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