Olga Kharif of BusinessWeek reports that tech news site GigaOm has begun charging readers for access to premium content while its basic tech blogs will remain free.
Kharif writes, “For $79 a year, the new GigaOm Pro will offer access to premium content, including research reports and long-form stories in such areas as wireless technology and cloud computing.
“GigaOm is at the forefront of a push by bloggers and other online information providers to find new ways to generate revenue as demand for online advertising slumps. Online ad revenue at the four largest Web portals, Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft’s MSN, and AOL, fell 3.3% in the first quarter, according to consultant eMarketer. Newspapers and magazines are under even greater pressure as their circulation numbers dip and print ad sales plummet.
“Ad sales rose in the first quarter for closely held GigaOm, says Paul Walborsky, CEO of Giga Omni Media. Still, the site is hedging its bets. ‘We believe that new media companies out there are going to have multiple revenue sources,’ he says. The company, which boasts about 3 million unique visitors to its site a month, also makes money from coordinating industry events. GigaOm provides blog content to BusinessWeek.com.”
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