Making money in online media is tough. So we wish success to all most who try. However! This sweet and friendly Dan Lyons profile of PR man Dan Abrams calls for some gentle clarification.

That's right, "PR man Dan Abrams." Dan Abrams started this whole "media company" thing in tandem with Abrams Research, his PR firm based on the novel idea that working journalists could become paid consultants for companies in industries they cover without that becoming a "conflict of interest." Dan Lyons calls this "a consultancy called Abrams Research, which hires journalists to advise corporations on media strategies."

Laundered! We have no idea whether Dan Abrams has managed to make a dollar with that firm, but we certainly hope not. His stable of blogs, though—Mediaite, Geekosystem, Styleite, the sports one, and even "Gossip Cop," as laughable as the one is—we wish well. Anything that provides jobs for writers these days is probably worthwhile. So when Dan Lyons writes, "The five sites now attract more than 5 million monthly visitors, and Abrams says he's on track to generate a bit more than $1 million in revenue this year. Next year he expects the company will generate $5 million in revenue and turn a profit," well, we'll just say, "we're rooting for you."

Dan Abrams is still a PR man, though.

Update: He calls Abrams Research a "digital media strategy firm" now. We'll let you decide.

[Newsweek. Pic: Getty]