Bronze
कांस्यNew contributors, first 3 published pieces
- News report (600 to 900 words)
- ₹3,500
- Feature or explainer
- ₹6,000
- Photo essay (8+ images)
- ₹5,000
- Editor pairing on every piece
- Payment within 30 days
Community journalism
आपकी कहानी, आपका नाम
Report the India only you can see.
Join 1,240 verified independent journalists publishing from 212 districts. Pitch a story, work with a real editor, publish under your own byline and get paid fairly.
Takes about 10 minutes. Read the contributor guidelines first.
MI
Meenakshi Iyer
Contributor, Madurai
Front page, cited in the state assembly. Paid in 9 days.
- verified contributors
- 1,240+
- districts reported from
- 212
- paid to contributors in FY26
- ₹3.8 cr
- median time to payment
- 11 days
Why publish with us
A national audience
Reach 4.2 crore monthly readers across India and the diaspora, with your byline on every platform.
Real editors
Every story is edited by a staff editor. No unedited copy goes live, ever.
Fair, fast payment
Published rates, no haggling. Most contributors are paid within 15 days of publication.
Safety and legal cover
Pre-publication legal review for sensitive stories and a safety desk for reporters in the field.
Your rights respected
You keep copyright. We license first publication and 12 months of exclusive online rights.
Grow with us
Top contributors get retainers, columns and first call on staff openings.
How it works
From pitch to payout in four steps
- 1
Pitch
Send a 150 word pitch: what happened, why now, who you will talk to. An editor replies within 72 hours.
- 2
Edit
Your assigned editor works with you on structure, sourcing and fact checks. Expect one or two rounds.
- 3
Publish
Your story goes live under your verified byline, in English or Hindi, with your author page linked.
- 4
Get paid
Invoice is raised automatically. Payment lands by UPI or bank transfer, TDS deducted as per law.
Payout tiers
Published rates, the same for everyone in a tier. Rates are per piece, before 10% TDS. Travel is reimbursed at actuals with bills for ground reports.
Silver
रजत4+ published pieces, no unresolved corrections
- News report
- ₹5,000
- Feature or explainer
- ₹9,000
- Ground report with travel
- ₹12,000 + expenses
- Priority on open assignments
- Payment within 15 days
- Bylined author page
Gold
स्वर्ण15+ pieces and an editor recommendation
- News report
- ₹7,000
- Investigation (multi-part)
- ₹35,000 to ₹80,000
- Monthly column
- ₹15,000 per column
- Retainer eligibility
- Legal review support
- Payment within 7 days
Trust
Verified people. Edited stories.
Every contributor byline carries a verification badge. Readers can trust that a real, accountable person reported the story, and that an editor checked it.
Read the full guidelinesIdentity check
One-time government ID review. We store only the last 4 digits of the ID number; the image is deleted after review.
Fact checking
Figures, names and quotes are checked by our research desk before publication.
Legal review
Stories with allegations go through pre-publication legal review at no cost to you.
Conflicts disclosed
You declare any personal, financial or political interest in a story. Undisclosed conflicts end the partnership.
Transparent corrections
Errors are corrected openly with a dated note, and your editor walks you through it.
From our contributors
My editor pushed me to find two more farmers and one bank record. That story ended up on the front page and was cited in the state assembly.
I report from places national desks rarely reach. Here I get the same editing, the same rates and the same byline as staff.
The studio makes everything transparent: where my pitch is, what the editor said, when I will be paid. That alone is rare.
Contributor names shown are illustrative.
Questions, answered
Do I need to be a professional journalist?
No. We work with students, researchers, lawyers and community reporters. What matters is accuracy, sourcing and a story only you can tell. Your first pieces will get extra editorial support.
Which languages can I write in?
English and Hindi are published today. We accept pitches in Marathi, Tamil, Bengali and Telugu and can arrange translation for strong stories.
Why do you verify identity?
Readers need to know a real, accountable person stands behind every byline. We check a government ID once. Only the last four digits of the ID number are stored, and the image is deleted after review.
How and when am I paid?
After publication an invoice is created in your studio. Payments go out by UPI or NEFT, usually within 15 days. 10% TDS is deducted under Section 194J, and you receive Form 16A every quarter.
Can I pitch the same story elsewhere?
Please pitch one outlet at a time. If we decline or do not reply in 72 hours, you are free to take it anywhere.
Can I use AI tools?
You may use AI for transcription, translation drafts and research leads, which you must verify. You may not use AI to generate quotes, images or published text. Declare any use in the submission form.
लिखिए, छपिए, कमाइए
Your first pitch could run this week.
Apply once, get verified in about 3 working days, then pitch as often as you like.