The "less is more" editorial model accounts for generous pay (roughly $2 to $5 per word) for contributors, said Woolley, a freelance writer and editor and former West Coast bureau chief for Forbes Magazine. Stories will typically range between 750 and 1,500 words, according to the L.A. Reported site. If my math is right, even shorter stories could pay between $1,500 and $3,750. Very generous, indeed!
It was March 2025, a little over a month after Outside Magazine had laid Keyes off as editor-in-chief. He'd been at Outside since 2007. "I really thought I was done with journalism, just because it's been such a roller coaster," he told me. But still, in the back of his mind, he had the germ of an idea for a newsroom dedicated to covering public lands.