Time running out for OhmyNews' members' club

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OhmyNews, one of the web's earliest citizen journalism news sites, has attracted half of its donation target from its writers, as part of its appeal for contributors to support the site.

Last year OhmyNews was 700 million KRW [South Korean won] in the red and halfway through 2009 was making a loss of 500 million, despite cutting salaries and 10 staff, the site announced in July. In response the site launched the '100,000 member club' - a project asking individuals to donate 10,000 KRW (about £4.83) a month to fund OhmyNews, with an aim of signing up 10,000 members by the end of this year and 100,000 by the end of three.

So far 5,828 contributors have signed up as supporters, a spokesman for the site confirmed.

Earlier this year the company suggested a financial turnaround could be achieved if 10,000 joined the club, he added.

The site has held a series of exclusive lectures from celebrity speakers as part of the offering to supporters, the spokesman said, while publisher Oh Yeon-ho has regularly called on the site for more donations.

"We are grateful for the remaining advertisers that have stayed with us. But we cannot continue to ask our advertisers for further support. And in contrast, we have not received a cent from the Lee Myung-bak government for central government advertising," Oh Yeon-ho said at the launch of the 100,000 member club . In January the site ended its payment scheme for contributors to its international site , replacing it with a monthly prize system, the most recent of which appears to have been handed out in April.