Your own private sports writer

Here's an interesting approach reported on ESPN.com: a baseball writer employed directly by his readers.

Ever wanted to have a say in the makeup of your morning sports report? Or just have someone personally ask Washington Nationals pitcher and New Jersey native Jason Bergmann what he thinks of "Jersey Shore"? Then meet Mark Zuckerman. A 33-year-old baseball writer from suburban D.C., Zuckerman is covering the Nationals during spring training in Viera, Fla. -- coverage made possible by reader donations to his team blog.


As in more than $10,000 in reader donations, collected in less than a month, $20-60 at a time.