For most online media companies, trying to maintain flat advertising revenues is still a struggle. Not for Gawker Media, if publisher Nick Denton is to be believed when he tells NiemanLab’s Zachary M. Seward that the company’s ad revenues are up 35 percent in the first half of the year.

And now that the good times are back, Denton has slowly brought back the pageview bonus system for Gawker writers. The system was suspended last fall when the financial meltdown struck. In conjunction with bringing back the bonuses, Gawker will also begin paying sources whose tips generate pageviews as well. “By bringing back pageview pay, we also open up the possibility of web-style checkbook journalism,” Denton told Seward.

—$10k for 2 million pageviews: Two years ago, Gawker’s female-focused site Jezebel paid a source $10,000 for an un-retouched Faith Hill pic that appeared on the cover of Redbook, which Denton guessed could have spurred roughly 2 million hits.

• Gawker’s Denton: Ad Economy Not So Bad After All; ‘Pageview Bonus System’ Will Resume
• Gawker Media Breezes Through February; Other Smaller Sites Faring Well, Too
• Where’s The Ad Market Headed Next Year? Nick Denton’s Dire Prediction