Media News - Thursday, July 09, 2009

OhmyNews appeals to readers for cash

The founder of the South Korean citizen journalism site, OhmyNews, has appealed to readers for financial contributions to keep the business afloat in the global economic downturn. In an open letter published on the OhmyNews site Wednesday, Oh Yeon-ho disclosed that the site lost KRW 50,000,000 (EUR 28,209) this year amid fears of heavier losses as advertisers keep slashing their marketing budgets. "For a news media to remain healthy, it will have to earn at least 50 percent of its income from the sales of content or paid subscriptions. Despite our best effort, OhmyNews still relies on advertisers for more than 70 percent of its revenue," Oh said. He added that if 100,000 readers joined the venture contributing KRW 10,000 a month, OhmyNews would be able to survive without relying on advertising revenues. Founded in 2000, OhmyNews proclaimed a new model of journalism with the motto "every citizen is a reporter". Most of the content for OhmyNews comes from ordinary citizens and only about a third comes from the 55-person staff. (The Guardian)

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