Forbes ends $500 guarantee for contributors

Forbes restructured its pay scale for contributors amid the coronavirus pandemic, ending the $500 guarantee for any writer who had seven posts published per month and reducing the repeat-reader bonus from five cents to one cent, reports Lindsey Ellefson of The Wrap.

Ellefson reports, “In an email dated April 21 and reviewed by TheWrap, Rob LaFranco, the editor who oversees the consumer and business section at Forbes, explained, ‘In these unprecedented times, Forbes continues to report the news and cut through the uncertainty like no other news site. As most of you have noticed in terms of your own posts, we are hitting record levels of audience and engagement. At the same time, like every other media outlet, we are seeing reductions in the rates paid for our digital ads. As we affirm our commitment to our best-in-the-world contributor network, this is a necessary time to make sure that our contract with you remains sustainable for the long-term.’

“He said that he and his team, along with a group of committed contributors, worked together on the plan. They found the existing half-a-cent rate for one-time readers and $250 guarantee for writing at least five posts to be ‘most important’ to contributors and left those alone.”

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