Hoopla asks readers to help pay its writers
Independent website The Hoopla is asking its readers to help pay its writers. In return The Hoopla is offering to keep them up to date with how the site is doing commercially, including disclosing its advertising income and what it pays its journalists and writers.
The site – which targets middle aged women – was launched by Wendy Harmer in June last year.
Female-focused sites have become a key commercial battleground. earlier this week, Mia Freedman revealed she had been dropped as a columnist by News Limited, suggesting that it was because of the success of her site Mamamia. Fairfax has launched its own offering, Daily Life.
Because The Hoopla is unaudited it is hard to tell exactly what traffic it is getting. However the free (and not always accurate) audience assesment service Alexa, suggests The Hoopla is yet to make a breakthrough that would drive major advertising support.
(Update: We’re incorrect to say The Hoopla is unaudited. It is. According to the audit bureau, last month the site delivered 263,707 page impressions and had an average of 3,130 daily unique browsers.)
Harmer has labelled the fund-raising initiative the Friends of The Hoopla Fund. She claimed that disclosing how it goes will be an industry-first. She said: “This may well be an industry first – there are not many companies that are prepared to discuss their finances but we think our supporters deserve transparency as they are directly contributing to our quality independent journalism.”
She said: “The quality of our writing is our number one priority and we know our readers share our appreciation for articles that are feisty, informative, thoughtful, brave and well-written. We are now giving an opportunity for our readers to support the commissioning of original content. We want to pay our journalists and writers more and we want to pay more of them.”
The Hoopla will be sharing details of funds raised from The Friends of The Hoopla; net ad revenue; contribution to journalists & writers; other expenses.
The Hoopla is not the first in Australia to pursue the reader-funded model. Independent analysis site New Matilda asks its readers to make an annual contribution.
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Hi Tim,
Just to let you know, we are audited by Nielsen.
We are one of the few sites that pays contributors and we take a great deal of pride in that. We have so many approaches from journos and writers who’d like to be part of the Hoopla – writers we know our readers would love. But we have to pay them. It’s an article of faith with me and co-founder Jane Waterhouse. Freelancers have to make a living and we want readers to be partners in understanding that.
We think this is a positive thing for online daily publishing. Hope you agree.
Regards etc.
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Hi Wendy,
My apologies – and my fault for saying you weren’t audited. I did check the ABC’s audit website but looked under H for Hoopla rather than T for The Hoopla. I’ve now updated the piece.
For what it’s worth, I’m all for transparency. It’s our fourth anniversary next month and I’m mulling whether we should share some of the company’s financials with our readers.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Hi Shamma,
Perhaps it’s the journo in me – I tend to lean more in the other direction. If there’s no compelling reason not to disclose something, then why not..?
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
This is an interesting turn of the wheel. The culture of ‘Free Internet readership’ slowly giving way to fiscal needs. And even more exciting – online editors with a moral compass.Firstly by offering their writers payment, and secondly wanting to pay them more!
As I writer, I am so over being asked to write with the hollow promise of ‘exposure’ as payment.
‘Reader-funded’ is newspeak for ‘cover-price’ – the sensible way to take care of costs!
‘Middle -age women’ have actually been exposed to the higher quality of paid writing through years of print and also understand the culture of ‘pay-to-read.’
They may be more inclined to embrace this idea online.
It is the ten year olds of today who will need to be dragged to their online bank later, as they are part of a generation who will not have known ‘magazine subscription’ or the ‘pay to read’ culture that existed before the Internet. They will emerge with the belief that Internet Information is free.
Music has been dragged back into the paid arena.
I am in with Hoopla… if you are offering quality content by professionals… it should be paid for. Save us from having to wade through blithering blogs loooking for the stuff!
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As a freelancer who writes for a number of websites, including The Hoopla, I think this is a wonderful initiative. So many sites, do not offer payment and instead say “exposure” is payment enough. That is insulting to writers who put so much time and effort into their craft. Exposure will not pay your mortgage. The Hoopla always pays and I am proud to write for them.
Great initiative Wendy x
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Go Wendy, and here’s to many sites following your example! You wouldn’t expect financial advice for free and nor should experienced writers be underpaid or worse, not paid at all. As a freelancer for newspapers, mags and online sites I know too well how tough it can be – for both sides. You have my vote.
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Bit perplexed by the assertion that News dropped Mia Freedman because of the success of her site Mamamia. Neither Mia or News have suggested that was a factor. And why on earth would it be? As I understand it, Mia’s free plugs for the site in the newspaper was an issue, but not the catalyst for her axing. And let’s face it, the numbers Mamamia attract hardly pose a threat for the highest selling paper in the country.
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Hi Brett,
Mia’s own words when she announced it: “I’ve heard for some time now that there are some at News Ltd not happy about the idea of their newspapers promoting me and Mamamia, who they now view as competition to some of their business interests.”
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Cheers, Tim. Sorry I was just going off what I read when she first wrote about it – didn’t realise she had updated her initial announcement to include the subsequent rumours regarding mutterings from within News about the level of cross promotion she was allowed to give in her newspaper columns.
I too had heard there were grumblings about that particular aspect of her contract but I still fail to see how the hits on Mamamia could possibly pose a threat for the biggest paper in the country.
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Well done, Wendy!
It’s about time contributors were paid for their efforts rather than being told what a privilege it is to be published on ‘x’ website – as is happening elsewhere.
It’s about time some of the sites that have that attitude were exposed.
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Good on the Hoopla. It’s a great little site which delivers well to its target market. I’ve heard that freelancers aren’t paid by The Punch or Mamamia. It’s the Huffington Post model and I don’t think it’s fair to writers, which eventually short -changes readers.
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@Sam and @Carol, could not agree more. Sites that rely on unpaid contributors are ultimately robbing readers as much as they are the journos they refuse to pay.
I’ve found The Punch in particular has notably dwindled in quality over the past year or so as it increasingly relies on lazy and predictable submissions from politicians and lobbyists and basically anyone pushing a barrow of sorts. Coughing up for some decent writers capable of entertaining the readers would surely be a worthwhile investment for a site such as The Punch that initially showed such promise.
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Hi Tim,
I think Wendy’s idea is a very good one. I’m proud to say I’m one of the paid writers on The Hoopla. But it would be great if this fabulous website could pay for even more contributors. It really is a lovely community.
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Good on Wendy, it is great to see a website that is for/pro women paying the women that are writing for it. She deserves to be applauded for her stance in this brave new world of journalism.
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