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Can - or should - Craigslist save journalism?
Posted By katie allison granju
Steve Outing writes an open letter to the Craiglist founder:
Craig, I’ve been seeing your public statements, for some time now, where you’ve expressed concern about newspapers’ plight as it affects watchdog journalism. I noted Craigslist’s $1.6 million donation to endow a faculty chair at the Berkeley Center for New Media. I’ve heard your enthusiasm for ProPublica. I’ve read your comments urging newspapers to do more investigative reporting, not less. (”We need investigative reporters to ask tough questions.” Boston Globe, 6/15/08)
So I think that you want strong journalism. And you are in a position to create more of it. I will not assume that you feel as Google’s Eric Schmidt does; he says that for Google there’s a “moral imperative” to help newspapers. But if you do feel that way too in regard to Craigslist, outstanding.
What can Craigslist do? I hope this open letter succeeds in making you open to having some conversations with the newspaper industry about how to work together. Whatever the two of you do together, if anything, it should benefit Craigslist as well as newspapers and journalism, of course. Here are a few of my ideas. I hope that other readers of this open letter also will share their ideas.
Read the whole thing. Then tell me what you think.
Jul 16th, 2008
