OhMyNews

Using 'citizen reporters', this online-only South Korean newspaper is a massive hit.

No one wants to read papers online. Or so many of the old school news publishers still want us to believe, even after years of non-stop growth in the number of potential online readers. Well, South Korea’s internet newspaper OhMyNews is proving these ‘dinosaurs in digital denial’ wrong, with a vengeance. In a country where close to 70% of all households subscribe to a broadband internet service (source: Morgan Stanley), and where next generation cell phones are as widespread as last-generation phones in the U.S., three-year old OhMyNews is getting 14 million pageviews a day, with 1-3 million active readers a day. The big twist: OhMyNews uses 26,000 ‘citizen reporters’, who send in stories and pictures, which make up 80% of all content. And it is all done online, 24/7. OhMyNews pays up to $20 per article, though for many citizen reporters, getting their name in the paper is the real reward. Facts are checked by a staff of 40. Fiercely outspoken, OhMyNews has successfully challenged the traditionally conservative press in South Korea. In fact, the online newspaper has already been credited with having swung a presidential election, and influencing the government’s stance on the North Korea issue. So much for paper! 😉

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