OhmyNew Columnist Get $30,000 in ‘tips’ in a week
This from a San Francisco Chronicle story about OhmyNews, the South Korean citizen journalism written newspaper:
OhmyNews readers can offer instant feedback online and — if they really like a piece — monetary tips. Readers poured nearly 30 million won ($30,000) into columnist Kim Young Ok’s account in increments of $10 or less in one week after he criticized the constitutional court of South Korea last year.
“They’re like street musicians or performers,” Jean Min, director of the international news division, said of the citizen reporters.
The story adds:
The site gets 1.7 million to 2 million page views each day, a number that shot up to 25 million during the December 2002 presidential election. …
The privately held Web site has been profitable since September 2003 and is projected to pull in $10 million this year, Min said. By contrast, Salon.com in San Francisco pulled in $6.6 million in fiscal year 2005 and had 1.1 million average daily page views in July, according to market research firm comScore Media Metrix.
Personally, I want to know who verifies Min’s numbers; nonetheless, the story is worth a read.
