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MinnPost's full-timers make pretty good scratch. $50,000-$60,000? Not bad money working for a non-profit.

Of course, quite a step down from full-time Strib status, I imagine. But still.

It's taken so long for the Web to be successfully monetized in terms of selling online ads. If sites like MinnPost can help create a market for online ads, it will finally create the possibility of professional local online publishing.

$1.3 mil seems like a lot to me, even though it's a fraction of the annual publishing cost of most newspapers. I hope they can do it. Especially with news that the Strib is getting ready to make even deeper cuts, we need locally generated content that can turn a profit.

I don't mean to be the harbinger of doom but i think that online publishers depending solely on display advertising are in for a serious wallop.

I have always questioned why publishers don't try and develop a more affiliate based relationship with some advertising customers than the traditional eyeball sales.

I know that it's a lot riskier in the short run, but I think that publishing is ready for some risks.

The funny thing is, I make less at MinnPost than I made editing a couple of community papers.

But it's about the most fun I've had in journalism, at least since my T.C. Reader/City Pages days, although the Southwest Journal/Downtown Journal gig was very satisfying.

I was a bit surprised how large our annual budget is, too.

The Strib, BTW, spends about $22.5 million on its newsroom, though obviously that figure will drop now.

http://is.gd/7Uqc

Self-linkage... the wave of the future.

Our writers and editors make a lot less than they used to, and I appreciate the passion they show every day for the work. We're not trying to make it solely on advertising -- our revenue from membership right now exceeds our advertising revenue, and we also have foundation support. Our goal, as a nonprofit, is to break even on just sponsorship, advertising and membership by 2011 -- in other words, to sustain ourselves without ongoing foundation grants. Based on the support we've received from the community in our first year, I'm optimistic we can do it.

I may buy some advertising from you, Karmer. You too, Matt. We'll see how the budget looks this quarter.

KC, about 10% of people who develop COPD never smoked -- similar to the % of non-smoking lung cancer patients. With lung cancer, we can look to other sources, like asbestos and radon.

What causes a nonsmoker to get COPD? We have more questions than answers. That's what we are working on now, among other things.

One thing is certain -- If we can reduce the rate of smoking, we can reduce COPD and lung cancer. We see that in states with low smoking rates -- less lung cancer & COPD.