Open Call for Creators at The San Francisco Standard

San Francisco is the most interesting city in America right now and we want to cover it the way it deserves. We're a digital news organization with over a million monthly readers, covering San Francisco with depth and speed. We launched in 2021 to provide the city with accountability journalism and coverage that treats San Francisco like it matters. Now we’re building what local news looks like on video, on social, and in culture — not just in articles.

Here's what we're doing about it:

We're paying self-starting creators to make compelling video and audio content about what's actually happening in San Francisco. If you can shoot, edit, and tell stories — and you're willing to do actual reporting — we want to see your work.

Submit your work. If it's good, we'll pay you for it and publish it to over a million monthly readers. If you keep making good stuff, we'll keep paying you. Maybe this becomes a regular thing. Maybe it turns into something bigger. But first, show us what you can do.

The kind of creators we want:

We’re looking for people who are already making things, not just sending resumes.

That includes:

• Video creators who post regularly on social and know how to make people stop scrolling
• Animators/Illustrators who make short, shareable videos about SF and already have an audience
• Journalists who don’t just write — you shoot, edit, and publish your own work online
• Hosts, interviewers, and documentarians who live in the social ecosystem
• Storytellers who understand pacing, captions, hooks, and what works on mobile

If your work lives on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or podcasts — you’re exactly who we want to hear from.

The kind of stories we want:

• The restaurant that's thriving while everyone says downtown is dead — how are they doing it?
• Inside the organization actually moving people off the streets — what works and what doesn't?
• The nightlife scene that doesn’t show up on Instagram — where are people actually going after midnight?
• The animator making 30-second videos about SF politics — why are thousands of people watching?
• The micro-community thriving in a corner of the city no one’s written about yet — how did it start?
• The underground organizer connecting artists, activists, and neighbors — what’s the network behind it?
• The cultural moment in SF that feels brand-new — why is it happening now?

Stories that require you to actually talk to people. Stories where you learn something. Stories that make people understand San Francisco better than they did before.

What we pay:

• Short video (under 5 min): $300-$1,000
• Long-form video (5-15 min): $1,000-$3,000
• Podcast episodes: $1,000-$3,000
• Other formats: Let's talk

Plus you get published by a real news organization with actual reach. You can put "published by The San Francisco Standard" in your portfolio. You get the credibility of a newsroom that breaks news.

What you need:

Production skills. You know how to shoot, edit, and make something people want to watch or listen to. You don't need a journalism degree or a fancy camera. You need to be able to tell a story in a visual or audio format that isn't boring.

Reporting ability. Or at least the willingness to learn. This means: talking to real people (not just texting), verifying information, getting multiple perspectives, not just repeating what you saw on Twitter.

A San Francisco angle. The story has to be about SF or the Bay Area. If it's about tech, it should be about what's happening here. If it's about policy, it should be about how it affects this city.

How this works:

Already made something? Send us a link. We'll watch it. If we like it, we'll pay you and publish it.

Have an idea? Pitch it to us. Tell us what the story is, why it matters, and how you'll tell it. Show us your previous work. If we're into it, we'll greenlight it and work out budget/timeline.

Either way, it goes through our editors. We'll fact-check it. We might ask for changes or additional reporting. We might ask you to reshoot something. This isn't just uploading to your YouTube channel — there are standards. But that's also why it matters more when it publishes.

What we're not looking for:

• Video essays about your feelings about San Francisco
• You reading articles that other people wrote
• Well-worn subjects that are already published elsewhere
• Pure opinion with no reporting
• Anything we can't verify
• Applications with only a resume

Submit your work:

Send either:

• Finished work: Link + brief description of how you reported it + your background
• Pitch: Detailed story idea + how you'll tell it + timeline + links to your previous work

We review everything. If it's good, we'll publish it and pay you. The city is happening right now. Show us how you'd cover it.