Be sure to read “What you need to know about working with Pittsburgh’s Public Source” first.
Pitch to Public Source
We welcome journalists and community members to pitch story ideas to Public Source. Find our pitch forms here. If you have any questions about pitching, please reach out to Editor-in-Chief Halle Stockton at halle@publicsource.org.
Freelance rates
We use the following standard rate table to determine payments for content contributed to Public Source.
Public Source will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment that violates federal, state or local law in the workplace, including in relation to compensation and rates we set with contributors/freelance journalists. This refers to discrimination (but not limited to) on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, citizenship, or disability (or any other prohibited ground of discrimination as defined by federal, state or local law).
As a contributor/freelance journalist, please confirm fees with Public Source ahead of taking an assignment. Please raise any concerns about costs you expect to incur in the course of the contract labor.
If, during the course of an assignment, there is reason to believe that the scope of the work is changing, please discuss with your contact at Public Source for direction and potential rate adjustment prior to undertaking additional work.
| Content type | Details | Fee |
| First-person essays | Most essays fall between 800-1,200 words. | $300 |
| Event coverage | Generally 600-1,000 words. | $300 |
| Resource guides/explainers | This format typically includes research, resources and may include a few voices. | $400 |
| Enterprise stories | Enterprise stories include several interviews and limited use of data and documents on complex topics. | $600 |
| Investigative stories | Investigative stories include multiple interviews and extensive research and/or use of data and records. | $1,000 |
| Event photography | A rate adjustment may be considered for events that present special hazards or go longer than 3 hours, pending advance approval with Public Source contact. | $120 |
| Portrait photography | $100 | |
| Use of photos not commissioned by Public Source | $30 per photo | |
| Fact-check | For the reviewer role. The reporter’s role in the fact check is included in story fees. | $75 |
When stories not commissioned by Public Source are offered to Public Source, the fees offered may not directly follow the rate schedule set above.
If you are providing your works to Public Source as an independent contractor, you will therefore be responsible for the payment of all federal, state and/or local taxes with respect to the works transferred to Public Source and/or the services you perform for us as an independent contractor.
Freelance contract
If we mutually agree that you will contribute to Public Source as a freelance contributor/freelance journalist, you will be asked to sign a contract outlining the terms of the relationship. We will provide a template copy of that contract to anyone who is interested in reviewing standard terms before pitching.
Besides signing a contract, freelance contributors must submit a W-9 form to Public Source.
We ask all contributors to proactively disclose conflicts of interests, real or perceived.
Kill fees
Sometimes things just don’t work out. When that happens, we typically pay a kill fee of 25% of the agreed-upon rate. We ask for common sense and courtesy on that. We reserve the right to alter the kill fee and expect good-faith negotiation from both sides.
Invoicing for payment
We ask all contributors to send us an invoice upon publication. If publication is delayed by Public Source, we will notify you of scheduling changes and, barring any concerns about getting to publication with the content, we will issue payment before publication in those cases. The content provider should feel free to raise any concerns.
Fact-checking and editing
Reporters and contributors for Public Source participate in the fact-checking and editing processes as follows:
- Participate in initial edit, responding to editors’ notes within the story draft and making adjustments to the story as needed. Yes, we ask a lot of questions and we do our best to make your reporting and writing shine. We suggest cuts to streamline and clarify the writing. The editing process can take time. But we do our best to set expectations on time commitment and try to be as transparent as possible with communication by using Google Docs’ ‘suggesting mode,’ and we expect you to do the same. If you don’t know how to use it, we will walk you through it.
- Please share any concerns with us about a story, a source, the timeline or anything else related to the assignment. We will help to find a solution. Unless we know it, we are unable to support you. Be transparent and honest.
- Fact-checking is vital to our organization’s credibility, and the process catches mistakes. You should see the fact check as additional support we’re providing to you. An editor will train you on our fact-checking system early in your reporting process, but bottom line: We’ll need to see sourcing behind each fact. We will ask you to support an independent fact-checker in validating each component of the story. Provide additional materials, answer questions and update the story as needed.
- Assist in helping our visual journalists line up visual components to the story by filling out a Google form request for photography and a separate form for graphics. (We will provide you with links).
Please address any questions about this information to halle@publicsource.org.