Dutch citizen journalism site to pay contributors by launching pay-per-view system

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Dutch citizen journalism site Skoeps is to introduce a pay-per-view system for its users, as part of plans to increase revenue for its contributors.

The site already offers a daily reward of €250 for the best photo or video submitted to the site and gives contributors half the fee for any content sold to other media.

It is hoped the new payment system, which will be implemented in the next two to three months, will encourage more contributors and increasing traffic to the site, Marcel Houtman, managing director of Skoeps International, told Journalism.co.uk.

In smaller markets, such as Holland, payment to citizen journalists is essential to encourage them to participate, Houtman added.

Skoep will cease spending on advertising this year and instead use the same sum to pay contributors.

"It's very important to give something back, because those are the people that make it. We are only editing it," he said.

"Last year we spent €500,000 on advertising. This year we will spend nothing and everything we were going to spend will go back to the site's community."