Most freelance journalism still runs on work-for-hire. A writer reports the story, files it, gets paid once, and signs away ownership in the same breath. The outlet can reprint it, syndicate it, license it, and increasingly feed it to a machine, forever, and the person who did the work has no further claim. A byline is not ownership. On most assignments a writer gives up both at once.
Masthead is built so that does not have to happen. It is a concierge-run marketplace for commissioned journalism. Editors post paid briefs. Writers pitch a short paragraph. Two offers settle the price in the open. And at settlement the writer signs a license, never an assignment and never work-for-hire. The outlet gets the rights it actually needs to publish. The writer keeps the copyright and one hundred percent of the settled price, and the finished piece earns a permanent public record.
Masthead is built by Joshua Bredl, a Denver-based founder and creator who has spent years on the other side of ownership deals and came away convinced that the people who make the work should keep it. He is the co-founder of Portal Health AI and Yeti Ultra, and Masthead is the project he most wanted to exist. It is run by hand right now, one brief at a time, on purpose, so that every part of the loop is proven before it is automated.
Early. Masthead is live and taking its first briefs by hand, and we would rather do the first ten slowly and right than rush a hundred. If you are an editor who commissions freelance work, or a writer who is tired of signing your copyright away, we would like to hear from you.