Biz journalists who start their own Web sites

The New York Times has an interesting story this morning about business journalists who have started their own Web sites. It features Nina Munk, the former Fortune writer who started urbanhound.com, a web site about animals, but mentions a number of others.

Reporter David Carr mentions that Om Malik, a former writer for Business 2.0, has received backing for GigaOM.com, a technology news Web site that has broken a number of stories, and Rafat Ali, the former managing editor of The Silicon Alley Reporter, recently received funding for his company, which publishes PaidContent.org, a site that covers digital media news.

Carr wrote, “Ms. Munk, whose most recent article in Vanity Fair was about the real estate market in Greenwich, Conn., said that her Web business had informed her approach to reporting.

“‘I think for a business reporter, starting a business is humbling,’ she said. ‘I think you develop a new appreciation for what it takes to manage a huge business. I have become acutely aware of the personality traits required for success in business.

‘None of these guys have any doubts, and I am filled with self-doubt,’ she added. ‘I’ve learned a lot about how single-minded you have to be.'”

Read more here.