We Want Media

Jim Buckmaster, CEO of www.Craigslist.org, said newspapers set their own downfall. The free-classifieds listing site operates on a comparable scale – a listing for at least every U.S. state, 10 Canadian provinces, 14 international cities, and 54 countries. Craigslist services about 10 million users with only 23 people on the payroll. Newspaper classifieds should be scared. After all, profit-driven papers cannot compete with a company that is purpose- and utility-driven.

Craigslist, in my opinion, has many advantages over traditional print classifieds. Craigslist is online, and digital with no print overhead. It changes and updates rapidly, it’s user-generated, it’s easy to navigate, and creates its own community. There is a system in place to responding and encourages the spread of information, frauding, and opinions. Buckmaster offers newspapers some console: "The financial position of newspapers has not declined, it has more plateaued." That’s right, newspapers, at least you have your health.