French pro-am news website Rue89 will turn profitable in 2011, says founder

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Rue89 , the French pro-am news website launched in 2007 by a team of former Libération journalists, will move into profitability in 2011, its founder has said.

Speaking to Journalism.co.uk, Pierre Haski said he expected the title, which employs around 20 full-time and freelance staff, to break even by the fourth quarter of 2010.

Earlier this week the previously online-only title made its first move into print with the launch of Le Mensuel , a monthly magazine featuring a mixture of content from the news site and original material. The magazine was launched to give a "second life" to the site's stories and as a business opportunity – a strategy showing promise after the first edition sold nine pages of advertising rather than the team's anticipated four.

But according to Haski the site will move into profitability "with or without the magazine": "If it's a success, it will accelerate our development; if not, we'll stop it before it becomes a burden."

In February the site received a €750,000 boost from four of its biggest investors and two new ones. In 2008 it raised €1.1 million from five investors , but has also tried to experiment with with online advertising formats, including its 'advertising wall' .

Last year the site launched a spin-off French-language title Quebec89 , but closed the operation six months later after lower than anticipated audience numbers impacted the site's aim for financial stability and editorial independence, a post on the site explains .