Tech: Smart Solutions for Local Media

Steve Barth, EVP, MediaSpan, online services; Elizabeth Osder, senior director, social media, Yahoo!; Ira Silbertein, Chris Jennewein, VP interactive, San Diego Union-Tribune; Patricia Lee Smith, executive directive, strategic marketing Seattle Times.

Jennewein: I’m optimistic about newspapers. Newspapers are doing quite well, but not doing a good job of telling the story. We’re very close to the tipping point where online can be the driver of new revenue growth.

Jennewein: I don’t think newspapers are going to become yellow page providers.  Newspapers will concentrate on some key categories, such as local entertainment.

Osder: In building community, there is usually some spark, something magic happens, and the community begins to take off, but there’s also usually someone in the engine room talking to customers, inviting them to participate.

Jennewein: Craigslist has plateaued. They’ve started changing for some postings and takes away some of the perceived non-profit glow. The company for all its perceived internet friendliness isn’t really internet friendly. For example, Oodle can’t crawl craigslist. Things like that are not internet friendly. “On the internet being able to do something like serve up a headline and link is standard practice and if you don’t do that then you’re not part of the ecosystem.�