What does it mean when you're asked, as a journalist, if you're "paid by the word"?

It's a bit of a minor insult-- the person is implying that you are writing a lot, and yet are not really saying much of value. If you were being "paid by the word," then this would be one way that you could make a lot of money. It'd just ignore it and find others who appreciate your contributions more.

Do you get paid as a "intern journalist," because being an intern and free lancing are not the same thing. If someone has you writing for free under the claim that you're interning, you aren't a freelancer. Most interns are getting college credit, for not getting paid.

See a free lancer gets paid by the work they do. Either by the article or "by the word". "By the word" means that the rate is set depending on the length of the published piece. So an author who writes a 1,000 word article is paid a different amount than a 5,000 word article. A "word" is a set amount characters, rather than actual words. Almost any word processing program will give you "word length" for a document.

with some publications that use freelancers, they pay by the word, like maybe 10 cents per word, so if you write a 500-word piece your pay is 50 dollars.

Don't concern yourself about how to respond to an idiot like the one who was ragging on you. Such people exist to shine the spotlight on themselves. They're not worth your time to respond.

Good luck with your internship -- hope it leads to a full time job!

what else could it mean? "paid by the word"........if you really don't know your in the wrong business

Your IQ is in question.