Freelance Features Writer

Observer Media; United States; Remote; USD 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative media outlet is seeking freelance writers to contribute sharp, original stories that captivate readers. This role offers the opportunity to explore diverse topics, from business to culture, and requires a distinctive voice and strong narrative skills. Ideal candidates will have a knack for understanding complex dynamics in society and the ability to deliver compelling narratives that engage and inform. If you thrive on curiosity and have a talent for storytelling, this is your chance to make an impact in a dynamic and evolving media landscape.

Qualifications

• Strong background in reported features, essays, or profiles.
• Distinctive voice that can cut without grandstanding.

Responsibilities

• File clean copy on deadline and take edits well.
• Pitch timely, well-angled stories we didn’t know we needed.

Skills

Reported features writing

Narrative skills

Pitching stories

Editing skills

Job description

Location: Remote (NYC-adjacent ideal, but not required)
Job Type: Freelance / Per-Assignment
Compensation: Competitive, story-based rates

Observer is expanding its freelance features roster. We're looking for sharp, original voices who can take a story apart and put it back together in a way that readers can’t ignore.

You should be equally comfortable diving into an assignment and pitching your own stories. We want writers with taste, curiosity and the kind of antennae that pick up on ambition, absurdity and contradiction—especially when those things are disguised as success.

We cover power across business, art, culture, and lifestyle. That means you'll be just as likely to profile a rising art advisor or dissect the strategy behind a downtown hotel launch as you are to chronicle the reinvention of a tech mogul or the quiet coup inside a legacy media company.

You Should Have:

A strong background in reported features, essays, or profiles

A distinctive voice that can cut without grandstanding

A sense of narrative and a nose for the telling detail

The ability to file clean copy on deadline—and take edits well

A willingness to take assignments and deliver them with style

The instinct to pitch timely, well-angled stories we didn’t know we needed

We’re Especially Interested In Writers Who:

Understand the dynamics of money, culture, and influence

Can make a piece about a startup read like a noir

Know what’s happening before it hits the press release

Are plugged into worlds like high-end fashion, fine dining, venture capital, media power plays, or museum politics—but aren’t in anyone’s pocket

To apply, send clips (3–5), a brief introduction, and 2–3 original pitch ideas (1–2 sentences each) to [e-mail] . Please specify if you have subject area preferences or standout expertise.