Writers swarm to internet, with an entrepreneurial spirit

Years ago, I heard some media guru commenting that the internet would make some writers very rich. I remember thinking aloud, "Yeah, right. Easy for you to say so."

That was a time when people in the media were still trying to understand the impact of Web technology. As a blessing, the internet had made news-gathering much easier while driving down the costs of getting information to people who want it. As a curse, it espoused the belief that information on the internet should be free, which hurt both media and its practitioners.

The prospects of a scribe becoming rich looked as dim as getting readers to pay for the content by the piece.