No need to fear Craigslist?

Posted by Martin Stabe on 6 March 2006 at 12:53
Tags: Circulation, Craigslist, Newspapers, Online, United States

The founder of the free-classifieds web site Craigslist, has told an American newspaper that the effect of his free-classifieds web site on local newspapers is much exaggerated.

Falling circulations, Craig Newmark told the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, is a far bigger problem for local newspapers.

Local papers will still be around in 20 years, Newmark predicts in the interview: “I think they will be around and much stronger, but the information will be delivered electronically. Keep an eye on the scrollable displays that you could roll out of your cell phone (with news tailored to each individual).”

Asked what he would you do if he were running a newspaper dependent on classified advertising revenue, Newmark said: “I’d be moving to the Web faster, hiring more investigative journalists, engaging the community and speaking truth to power.”

Newmark’s hugely popular free ads site has editors, including the Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger, worried about a major source of newspapers’ ad revenue.

Tags: Circulation, Craigslist, Newspapers, Online, United States