$9 eCPM (per ad, not even per page)? If they can seriously get that for run of the mill non-niche content, that's where their real skill lies. There are plenty of part-time bloggers (including many HN users) who could make a serious chunk of change earning $9 eCPM even on their personal blogs..
The cost of a premium article is $250? The writers must get paid a lot less than I imagine.