I'm not sure if they do pay. They seem to be saying Techcrunch offer 200-1000 but I don't know why they would mention that.
It is like offering someone a job in your porn video for free with the promise that "we will give you some great exposure....porn stars can make over $100k per year with some of the big companies"
Actually that's the pickup line I usually use.
Haha. Some people sadly do try to exploit people like this though (both in porn and regular work). A few years ago I was tried to be pushed onto an unpaid position and they tried to sell it to me as 'it's great experience' and 'will look great on your CV'. I don't think so. People who are cheap or can't offer to pay you will sell the position any way they can. Someone who writes for some crappy site is unlikely to move on to Techcrunch or some other big site without any qualifications.