For newspapers, classified ads used to be a great revenue source. With the rise of online classified ads side such as Craigslist, this caused a big impact to their industry.
Rick Edmonds noted that the classified ads industry dropped from $10 billion in 2008 to just $6 billion in 2009. Compare that to the $19.6 billion worth it has back in 2000, you can see that it had a really drastic decline in worth. Because of the decline of the revenue from classified ads, it’s safe to say that it’s one cause why the newspaper industry is now suffering from financial troubles.
The newspaper industry is having a hard time competing with Craigslist because there is no way to compete. It’s easier to compete with your competitor who is also charging for the same service they are offering. With Craigslist, they are really not charging anything yet they are taking away the market for classified ads that newspapers desperately need.
Craigslist is a great site that millions of people visit everyday. Their rise made it easier for just about anybody to post an ad but this is devaluing the industry of classified ads. Newspaper should indeed find other ways or sources of revenue in order to survive the Internet generation.
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