But Salon is looking at a book club, travel services, and wine sales to supplement the e-commerce site. Gringas said he would be happy if these new ventures contribute 10 to 20 percent of its revenue someday.

Other papers, from Dallas to San Francisco and Boston, have raised subscription prices to generate more revenue. Circulation revenue grew 2 percent at the New York Times and the Boston Globe during the last three months of 2009.

Circulation revenue, which has traditionally supplied only 20 percent of revenue at major newspapers, now accounts for as much as 40 percent for some newspapers, the Newspaper Association of America's Bennett said.

New nonprofits like the Bay Area News Project are all but shunning advertising altogether. Instead, the news site that will go head to head against the San Francisco Chronicle this spring will turn to foundations, member donations, and even the government for support, CEO Lisa Frazier said. Its biggest supporter is the Hellman Family Foundation, which gave it a $5 million seed grant.

It sees itself as providing a service that is for the public good and points to National Public Radio as an example of a news organization that relies on similar revenue sources. Advertising and corporate sponsorships will provide a small portion of its revenue. Frazier couldn't say just how much will come from advertising.

But other new-media executives that once shunned advertising in favor of foundations are now returning to the old-school model.

"Foundations are not the savior," said Geoff Dougherty.

The former Chicago Tribune reporter ran the Chi-Town Daily News from 2005 until September of last year. Dougherty shut down the news site after running out of funding.

Dougherty said the Chicago site was too dependent on the Knight Foundation, which gave it $600,000 in its first year. But that money was cut in half in its final year.

"It's hard to find a foundation that is really aligned with your vision," Dougherty said. "And they're fickle."

Now Dougherty said he has a better business model with Chicago Current, a monthly magazine and website focused solely on politics. Think of it, he said, as Politico for the Windy City. And he is going after advertising this time around.

By focusing on a niche market—elected officials—he thinks he can make a better pitch to advertisers than a general newspaper can. By concentrating on one area, he expects to spend less on resources.

He has brought in $18,000 in advertising from advocacy groups and campaign consultants in the three months since it launched. He expects to generate additional revenue from hosting events and providing custom political research data.

And for older media sites, there is a limit as to how much you can branch out into ventures like wine and travel without losing your identity as a news site.

"You don't want to turn yourself from a content source to a shopping mall," Patel said. "You'll destroy your brand."

Gringas said he would be happy if e-commerce accounts for 10 to 20 percent of its revenue someday. And he's still counting on advertising bouncing back once the recession ends.

"I hope that advertising returns to good health."

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Julekha Dash is a freelance writer and editor based in Baltimore.