The word on the street for 2010’s journalism is decline. I make no apologies for presaging doom and gloom – it’s a sad truth that can’t be ignored. Declining revenues, declining readership, and declining numbers of reporters: decline is everywhere, and it’s coming soon to a newspaper near you.

When it comes to online journalism, however, the story is somewhat different. According to figures released by paidContent, online juggernauts Politico and The Huffington Post both ended 2009 in the black. Estimates reveal that The Huffington Post is likely to make between $12m and $16m in 2010, while Washington-based Politico exceeded $20m for 2009.

And it’s not just revenues that are up. Online journalism’s audience is expanding exponentially. Last year, The Huffington Post exceeded paper-based media giant The Washington Post in terms of unique online users, recording a growth of 26% year-over-year to reach 9.4 million readers in September 2009. Industry sources estimate that the four-year-old Huffington Post has now ballooned into an asset worth $200m.

As The Guardian’s Mercedes Bunz puts it: “Politico and the Huffington Post may not be big in staff and revenue, but they are symbols of a changing media landscape that other companies might learn from – Yahoo, for example.”

Speaking of Yahoo, Digital Journal recently reported that the digital behemoth plans to build a network of freelance writers and bloggers who will write opinion articles and blog posts on the site. The aim is to complement breaking news from wires such as Associated Press and Reuters, enhancing the news potential of the Yahoo enterprise.

Sound familiar? It looks like The Periscope Post has got its business model just right for 2010. Rather than impending decline, the online media is set to expand, excel and enhance the way consumers receive and interact with news.

This is going to be an exciting decade.