An assignment system and method for generating content creation requests or “assignments” and targeting assignments to content contributors. The assignment system is part of a content distribution system that aggregates, manages, and distributes/syndicates multimedia content that is generated by content contributors. As part of the acquisition of content, the assignment system may compensate the content contributors for the content that they provide to the system. The assignment system generates assignments that are likely to result in content that will be of interest to content consumers. The assignment system targets the generated assignments to content contributors that are well-suited to generate content that will be successful among a target audience. The assignment system notifies those contributors of available assignments and allows contributors to claim assignments to fulfill. The assignment system also manages the flow of content submissions and verifies that submitted content meets the assignment's requirements.