Given how many underpaid science writers are out there, I’d have to say that ~50k/year would probably do it for a pretty good one, especially given the ‘good cause’ bonus to happiness that any qualified individual would understand and value. But is even 1k/week in donations realistic? What are the page view numbers? I’d pay $5 for a good article on a valuable topic; how many others would as well? I suspect the numbers don’t add up, but I don’t even have an order-of-magnitude estimate on current or potential readers, so I can’t myself say.
You need not only a good science writer, but one who either already groks the problem, or can be made to do so with a quick explanation.
Furthermore, they need to have the above qualifications without being capable of doing primary research on the problem (this is the issue with Eliezer—he would certainly be capable of doing it, but his time is better spent elsewhere.)
Given how many underpaid science writers are out there, I’d have to say that ~50k/year would probably do it for a pretty good one, especially given the ‘good cause’ bonus to happiness that any qualified individual would understand and value. But is even 1k/week in donations realistic? What are the page view numbers? I’d pay $5 for a good article on a valuable topic; how many others would as well? I suspect the numbers don’t add up, but I don’t even have an order-of-magnitude estimate on current or potential readers, so I can’t myself say.
You need not only a good science writer, but one who either already groks the problem, or can be made to do so with a quick explanation.
Furthermore, they need to have the above qualifications without being capable of doing primary research on the problem (this is the issue with Eliezer—he would certainly be capable of doing it, but his time is better spent elsewhere.)