paidContent - RR Donnelly Takes $4.4 Million Stake In Writing Community Helium
This story was written by Tameka Kee.
Integrated media and communications company RR Donnelly has taken a small stake in Helium, a citizen journalism/social publishing startup. Financial terms were not disclosed, though an SEC filing shows that Helium recently picked up a $4.4 million investment, which CEO Mark Ranalli confirmed was the money invested by RRD.
Helium raised over $17 million in a first round of funding led by Signature Capital, last October. Board members include AOL’s Jeff Levick and former Monster.com exec Steve Pogorzelski.
Chicago-based Helium operates a freelance writing community; publishers post available assignments and contributors can get paid on a per-article basis or via an ad revenue share, in the same general field as Associated Content and Demand Studios. Writers can also enter to win awards from organizations like the Pulitzer Center and U of Miami’s Knight Center for International Media. Founded in 2006, Helium says its members have published over 1.25 million articles. Release.
By Tameka Kee