Craig in the headlines

We spotted a couple bits of Craigslist news recently:

1. Craigslist boss slams US press, from The Guardian (UK). CEO Jim Buckmaster has “accused US newspaper publishers of actively encouraging journalists to write negative stories about the online classified advertising company.”

The Guardian writer quotes him as saying, “Journalist friends of ours say that they have been told not to write positive stories about us. … I don’t mean it [the accusation] as a complaint, it is a factual answer… we are seen as a primary competitor by newspapers.”

Perhaps what’s needed is some new thinking in regard to Craigslist. Is there a way for the newspaper industry to actually cooperate with the small-but-influential company? Founder Craig Newmark has said many times that he doesn’t think that Craigslist is the cause of newspapers’ woes, and he doesn’t want to see watchdog journalism be degrades as the newspaper industry declines. So maybe there’s room for the two “sides” to support each other. … And if Buckmaster’s charge has any truth to it, that would be petty and unprofessional.

2. Craigslist not liable for housing bias in ads on site (via Marketwatch.com). This is good news, of course, not just for Craigslist but for all online classifieds operators who accept unvetted ads. As more and more newspaper and other classifieds websites accept free ads, there comes a point where volume doesn’t permit staff oversight of every entry, but rather reliance on “report abuse” features and the watchful eyes of users who will alert you to problem ads.

Any smart publisher will try to curb abuses such as landlords posting “No minorities” and “No children” wording in classified ads. That can be as simple as applying keyword filters to flag suspect ads for moderation. But the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that Craigslist was not the publisher or speaker of the ads, and could not be held responsible for the content, should allow classifieds managers to sleep easier.

Tags: craigslist, jim buckmaster