Frequently asked questions

How does Newzulu work?

Newzulu works as a platform to sell your photos, videos, and articles to media buyers around the world.

Over 7,000 newspapers, magazines and broadcasters access Newzulu Wire to select validated submissions from professional and citizen journalists for licensing and use in broadcast, online or print media.

The more your photo, video or article is worth to a bidding client, the higher your earnings. Once your story is sold to a media outlet, Newzulu in turn credits your account.

What is a newsworthy story?

We are looking for photos, videos and articles about topics that interest you and that cause an impact or that you feel are important to your community, your country or to an international audience. These are usually timely stories.

Here are some ways you can get a good sense of what is newsworthy, follow what stories news outlets are publishing:

• Read your local and national newspapers and magazines
• Watch the news on TV
• Follow the social media accounts of news publications around the world

Check out our Bought and Published page to get a sense of what stories have been sold through Newzulu Wire.

A newsworthy story will break an exclusive news story or introduce new, important information on an existing topic.

What stories sell the most?

In a nutshell: exclusive stories sell. If you have a photo, video or information that no one else has, and that story impacts a lot of people, the chances of our sales team being able to sell your story are a lot higher.

Also consider how quickly you are able to submit your story to Newzulu – if you are able to submit within minutes or hours of the newsworthy event will mean a much bigger chance that your scoop gets sold. Contributors who submit exclusive content quickly tend to be the most successful. The bigger and more relevant a news story, and the more it is a trending topic, the quicker it will tend to sell – and usually for a higher price.

But keep in mind that we are also looking for local stories that may not be breaking news or celebrity-related.

Did you witness a big event, a fire, an accident, a crash, a natural disaster? Did you film or photograph a specific protest, or a sports event, or a celebrity? Did you witness something incredible? Were you at the right place at the right time? These are good indicators that you have a scoop in your hands.

What content are you looking for?

We’re looking for photos, videos and articles on a range of topics:

I’m a professional journalist and photographer – is there any point in me joining?

Yes, we welcome all professional photographers, videographers and writers.

How am I paid for my submissions?

Newzulu pays contributors a percentage of the profit made from sales of their submissions. See How to get paid.

After a submission is sold, when do I get paid?

You will typically receive payment directly into a PayPal account within 60 days after your content is sold. If you do not own a PayPal account, we will contact you for your bank details and complete a wire transfer.

If your submission is not a breaking news story, we will continue to showcase it after the 30-day exclusive license period expires as part of the Newzulu Wire archives, and the content remains available to international media subscribers. If your submission is bought while it’s in the Newzulu Wire archive, you will receive a pro-rata cut of the revenue from the client’s subscription that month. You will get paid for each time your submission appears in a different newspaper, magazine or broadcast channel worldwide.

All submissions remain your property at all times, subject to the Newzulu Terms Of Use.

How does Newzulu sell your content? How does exclusivity work?

Submitting photos, videos and articles to Newzulu automatically grants Newzulu Wire an exclusive license to market the original content you’ve submitted worldwide for a period of 30 days, in order to get you the best possible deal for your work. In addition, you grant Newzulu the right to publish your submission on the Newzulu websites worldwide. After this time, your submission remains in the Newzulu Wire archives and our license becomes non-exclusive, which means you have the right to publish it yourself as you wish.

During the exclusivity period, we cannot sell submissions that have been licensed or published by the contributor or by third parties.

Can I change my mind after uploading to Newzulu?

When you upload your submission to Newzulu, you automatically grant us an exclusive worldwide license for 30 days.

This is a legal agreement that cannot be revoked even if you leave Newzulu within that period. After this 30-day period, the license becomes non-exclusive but perpetual, meaning the image will remain in the Newzulu Wire archives.

Where can I find Newzulu’s full terms and conditions?

The full terms and conditions are included in the Newzulu Terms and conditions.

My images are too blurry or too dark… can I send them anyway?

Newzulu validates the authenticity of all photo and video submissions. If photos or videos are too compressed, too blurry, too dark or too pixelated, it is unlikely that our editorial team will be able to validate them.

If you have a big scoop or exclusive photos or videos, don’t hesitate to submit them to us, regardless of the quality of the images.

Does Newzulu alter my photos?

Newzulu may resize, crop, tweak, sharpen, recolour and otherwise enhance a photo for publication. However, we always keep an original unaltered copy of every file you submit.

Will Newzulu publish my photo or video records?

If your photos or videos are a few months or years old, they are likely to be less interesting to the Newzulu community and to the media. Nonetheless, if you have exclusive, interesting photos or videos that portray a past event in a new way or that have a timely connection to current news, please don't hesitate to submit them.

What are the legal concerns of the material I submit?

Privacy rights and laws are different in every country. If your submissions infringe on the law, they will not be validated. If we have doubts, your submission will be held until the legal concerns are cleared, or part of your submission may be blurred out. It is important that you are familiar with the Submission Guidelines in the Newzulu Terms and conditions

What if I photograph or film a crime?

f we believe a submission to Newzulu records a crime or event for which there is a responsibility to inform authorities, our policy is to immediately report such materials to all relevant authorities.

What if I don’t own the material I am submitting? For example, the photo, or a photo portrayed in the photo, or music in a video?

As part of Newzulu’s Terms and Conditions of Use and Submission Guidelines, you agree to be able to provide Newzulu with a clear license to the content for sale. Our validation system operates to monitor the submission of content but please ensure you obtain any necessary authorisations regarding the rights of third parties before you submit stories to Newzulu.