No. There's tons of people (even a lot of teens) who make very good money via AdSense and other CPC/CPM ad networks by creating useful content websites instead of thinking they need $20,000 from an "investor" to build a techie-related website.

And then there are the millions of splogs that clog up the intertubes that steal pictures, videos, IP and toss out adsense. Hip hip hooray.

I don't know if it was actually paid by google. But it sure does read like an ad.

You think the press can't write their own get rich quick stories without Google funding them? Do you really think people don't eat this up?

It seems I have to explain myself as people didn't get the reference.

http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

Both of your comments in this thread are correct.

But it's also likely that someone inside Google kicked this off by compiling a list of sites which do make that kind of money, then suggesting it to the press.

I.e., the "get-rich-quick" loving press probably had no idea that some (albeit probably very small number of) people make that kind of money from their Google ads until someone from Google told them.