Gawker Media publisher Nick Denton sparked controversy last month (not least amongst his writers) with a new salary structure that rewards bloggers based on traffic earned rather than with a flat wage. Now B2B publisher Reed Business Information (RBI) is considering the same move. “Journalists would take a lower basic salary in return for the chance to earn a commission style bonus for online content if such a pay model was implemented” RBI MD Jim Muttram told Journalism.co.uk at the Periodical Publishers Association’s Magazines 2008 conference. Incisive Media also revealed it has used a similar model with some of its bloggers. paidContent:UK can confirm that “several discussions” of this sort have taken place at RBI in the last few months, but the option depends on the outcome of RBI’s planned divesture from its parent company

• Reed Business Information Divestment: Nothing Ruled In Or Out
• Reed Business Information To be Sold Off; “Reducing Exposure To Cyclicality”