About Us
At its core, 101Reporters is a network of freelance journalists and acts as a bridge between them and media houses.
In our initial avatar, we would accept story ideas from reporters, fine-tune them and pitch them to media houses. Once a pitch was approved, we would help reporters deliver a well-rounded story. Now, we ourselves have become a publisher. We have partnered with various media houses to republish our articles and amplify their reach.
Having started in October 2015, we now have more than 2,000 reporters spread across India, in almost every state. If you are a reporter, you may click here to sign up with us and start pitching stories. If you are a publisher and would like to republish our stories, please click here .
Awards
Ashoka | 2017
Founder-CEO Gangadhar Patil chosen as an Ashoka Fellow, awarded to the world’s leading social entrepreneurs.
At a time when media is increasingly relying on citizen journalism to bring stories from remote areas, Gangadhar is drawing attention to the urgent need of investing in grassroot freelance reporters.
101Reporters in News
Testimonals
What others say about us
101 gives me the liberty to cover all beats and a medium to be heard and read. Love and live by my bylines! Boosts my morale to come back to full time journalism. The story on aviation that I last filed with 101 was a remarkable experience. I have been covering aviation since my full-time journalism days.
MMamta Todi
101Reporters gives me the liberty to cover all beats and a medium to be read. It boosts my morale to come back to full-time journalism. Being a father and based in Bhopal, opportunities are now few for me but 101Reporters has given me the confidence to continue reporting.
Mudasir Kuloo
101 Reporters is much more than just a network of grassroots reporters from across India — and a few beyond. It's an idea that will increasingly find resonance in different countries of the world. As major newspapers shrink their newsrooms, the 101 Reporters model could help them avoid slipping into an echo chamber where they no longer receive news and features from small towns and rural areas. OZY has partnered with 101 Reporters for more than a year, on multiple projects. From the range of brilliant ideas and pitches their reporters come up with, to the high standards of initial editing that their editors offer, the 101 Reporters team is a joy to work with. They're always cooperative, receptive to suggestions, prompt with communication, and timely in their delivery. I wish them the best.
CCharu Sudan Kasturi, Senior Editor, OZY
I have done several fabulous stories with 101Reporters. It has always been a great experience working on offbeat but socially relevant stories. I remember going out of my way to work on a story for weeks and finally cracking it. The desk of 101Reporters chiselled the story into a compelling narrative, which became a hit after it was published.
SSat Singh
My journey with 101Reporters has been very fruitful. It was one of the reasons that I could build a profile that was fit for my current job. Though I was not a staffer at 101, you all made me feel so welcome that 101Reporters has become a part of my life. You are doing a wonderful job in the field of journalism.
Manish Chandra Mishra
We worked with 101 reporters in 2018 when severe floods affected the southern Indian state of Kerala. Our humanitarian teams were deployed on the ground but were unable to send our communication officers to help document our work and testimonies of those affected by the disaster. We decided to use the services of 101 reporters as they were recommended by other non-governmental organisations. Their teams on the ground worked in difficult circumstances but were highly professional and understood the importance of our guidelines while documenting content. We had a great experience working with 101 reporters and we wish them the best for their path breaking work on RTI-led research, niche and custom content and local ground support.
HHimanshi Matta, Oxfam
Gangadhar and his team at 101Reporters have always produced excellent work - not only can they use their vast network of journalists around India to find interesting stories, but they are also able to film and produce them to a very high standard. I can not recommend them highly enough.
WWilliam Davies, Film Maker, Journalist
101Reporters extensive network across India has been very helpful to Amnesty International India in covering human rights issues. From human rights violations whether it happens in cities or it happens in rural India we trust 101 reporters to help us in covering the story.
AAbhirr VP, Senior Campaigner, Amnesty International India
101Reporters was extremely helpful when I needed to find local producers to work with me on a photography assignment in Punjab and Ladakh. Gangadhar was diligent in his communication, and the members of the team I was connected with were not only professional in their work, but were great people; we ended the assignment friends as much as colleagues
BBrendan Hoffman, Photographer
I have worked closely with reporters and editors from 101reporters.com over the last few years, and I can say without hesitation that they are a boon for small, independent newsrooms, especially those without the ability and resources to reach across this vast, complex nation. Their reporters have--at competitive cost--doggedly pursued every story thrown at them, regardless of subject, area, difficulty or complexity. Their biggest asset, to me, has been their cheerful willingness to listen, learn and adapt and work with a range of outside editors. For instance, an award-winning hate-crime database that I ran required working not only in tense, difficult situations but demanded doggedness in finding and bringing in proof. Their reporters delivered each time, willingly enduring multiple rounds of editing and reworking copy. Indeed, without 101reporters.com, database verifications and investigations would not have been possible. Their range and repertoire is vast, and I unhesitatingly recommend their editorial services.
SSamar Halarnkar, Editor, Article 14
I’ve had the privilege to be on both sides of the 101 Reporters fence, first as a writer, gaining access to some coveted bylines including one on CNN; and now commissioning stories to the network for Forbes India. 101 Reporters has helped us widen our reach and dig out important and interesting stories from regions we would not otherwise be able to access, including Begusarai, Ayodhya and a great series from Kashmir. I’ve found their work ethic to be very professional; they always deliver on deadlines and pitch stories that are relevant to the publication. I’d recommend them from both sides of the fence.
PPankti Mehta Kadakia, Assistant Editor, Forbes India
In our long-standing collaboration, 101Reporters has always come through to bring us original, grassroots reporting to match our exacting standards. Their team are committed and driven, with a can-do spirit that carries the day whenever we reach out for reportage from remote corners, even for niche projects and with very specific or layered requirements.
MMadhur Singh, Editor, IndiaSpend
Join our network of freelance reporters and become part of a dynamic community that supports you in telling stories that matter.
Step 1
Ideate and pitch your story
After logging into our platform, submit your pitch in the prescribed format with all the details, supporting documents and visuals.
Step 2
Submit your story
When a pitch is approved, you can execute it as per the approved brief and the editor’s comments.
Step 3
Collaborate with the Desk
Work with us to shape the story into its best version. We’ll help you identify and fill logical gaps, and add perspective to the story.
Step 4
Get your story published
We then edit the story, play it back to you and publish it on our site. We also send it to our publishing partners.
Step 5
Receive your payment
Once the story is published, your payment will be processed within the first week of the following month.
Step 1
Ideate and pitch your story
After logging into our platform, submit your pitch in the prescribed format with all the details, supporting documents and visuals.
Step 2
Submit your story
When a pitch is approved, you can execute it as per the approved brief and the editor’s comments.
Step 3
Collaborate with the Desk
Work with us to shape the story into its best version. We’ll help you identify and fill logical gaps, and add perspective to the story.
Step 4
Get your story published
We then edit the story, play it back to you and publish it on our site. We also send it to our publishing partners.
Step 5
Receive your payment
Once the story is published, your payment will be processed within the first week of the following month.
FAQs
For more details, please click here to see the Terms and Conditions
For stories published on 101Reporters website, we pay a flat rate of ₹ 4,500. Photo essays are priced lower and supplementary videos, if used, are paid for separately. Differential pricing might apply if the reporter sends in a half-baked story and refuses to provide further information despite repeated reminders. For a wider reach, we give these stories to publisher partners at zero cost. Hence, no additional payment is made to the reporter for republished stories. If the same story is translated and published in another language, the reporter (and 101Reporters too, for that matter) cannot claim payment for it.
- Payment cycle: We make payments once a month. By the 1st or 2nd of the month, the invoice is uploaded on their dashboard in our content management platform. Reporters are required to complete the formalities and submit the invoice by the 5th, post which the amount is transferred to their bank account by the 15th.
- If a reporter fails to submit their invoice by the due date, they are paid the next month.
- We pay neither in advance nor immediately after a story is submitted. In other words, payment is not released outside our monthly payment cycle. No requests regarding the same are entertained.
- There is no minimum threshold for payment.
- We don’t pay for travel or accommodation for reporting.
- No payment shall be made if our desk refuses to approve a story for want of inputs.
- If a reporter's net payment crosses ₹ 30,000 in a financial year, we are required to deduct 10% of the net amount as Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) as per Government of India rules. All the subsequent payments will incur 10% TDS once a reporter crosses the ₹ 30,000 threshold.
- eg. If a reporter has received ₹ 27,000 in payment from 101Reporters in a financial year, all the payments made till then incur no TDS. Suppose the reporter's next invoice in the same financial year is for ₹ 5,000, taking his/her net income from 101Reporters to ₹ 32,500. Now, 101Reporters will have to deduct 10% of the net payment made to the reporter so far in the financial year. In this case, the amount comes to 10% of ₹ 32,500 = ₹ 3,250. Hence, instead of receiving ₹ 5,000 from 101Reporters, the reporter will receive ₹ 1,750 (₹ 5,000- ₹ 3,250).
- All the following payments to the reporter will incur a 10% deduction only on that particular invoice. Suppose the reporter's next invoice is also for ₹ 5,000. This time, the TDS will be only ₹ 500 (10% of ₹ 5,000), since the tax for the previous payments has already been accounted for in the previous deduction.
- 101Reporters is required to deposit this TDS to the government and provide a TDS certificate to the reporter. If the reporter's annual income in the financial year is within the exemption limit to pay income tax, the reporter can claim a refund from the Income Tax Department while filing annual income tax returns. More information on this is available on the internet.
Tax Deduction at Source:
Those seeking a letter of support or recommendation must write to [email protected] with a short bio, details of the programme they are applying to, particular requests and specifics of their pitch, if applicable.
- Those requesting a letter of support must have published at least three stories with 101Reporters in the past six months. Any exceptions will be processed at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.
- Please give us at least a week to process your request.
- While we will make every attempt to stand by our letter of support (which is why it helps to have as much information as possible about the reporting project on the onset), it is not binding on us and publication is subject to the final story adhering to our editorial scope and guidelines.
