National Public Radio is going to try anew to rev up hyperlocal on the Web sites of its affiliates, according to a paidContent.org interview with incoming CEO Vivian Schiller, who was recruited from a leadership position at NYTimes.com. Schiller is…
Craigslist has added “erotic services” as its third paid section (in selected markets) in an effort to crack down on illegal activities, such as child exploitation. The site will now require a nominal $5 fee, paid via credit card, to…
Local publishers, seeing the boom in text messaging and the Web surfing capabilities of the iPhone, are taking mobile more seriously as a channel for their content and advertising. Clearly, the mobile opportunity for local publishers has now gone beyond…
Are classifieds fated, by definition, to be "dumb" all-you-can-eat listings? Or can certain categories be remade as performance-based listings a la Google that bring best matches to the top, offering higher revenue in return for a better match and conversion? That's…
Broadband providers, especially those formerly associated with telco Yellow Pages, are trying to get back in the game of providing marketing services for small businesses. They’re looking to provide Web 2.0 directory-like profiles and search engine marketing services for small…
Are the small-business “home and trade service” advertisers that populate PennySaver and American Classifieds a good bet to buy search packages? That’s the question being posed by American Classifieds, the second-largest classified publisher franchise with 6,000 editions. The company signed…
It is counterintuitive that Web 2.0 real estate sites would continue to grow their audience and ad dollars while the industry “scrapes along the bottom” for years to come. The sites, though, still say they are growing. “Fear, value-shopping, and…
When Topix first came on to the scene in 2003, it primarily crawled local news. These days, the 30-person company has largely remade itself into more of a local portal, especially for smaller markets. It still isn’t profitable, but CEO…
At J.D. Power and Associates’ Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas this week, several speakers said they believe mobile search and services are an increasingly important part of auto marketing -- assertions backed up by J.D. Power research showing that…
J.D. Power and Associates’ annual Automotive Internet Roundtable is being held in Las Vegas, amid an industry that is being especially hard hit by the credit industry. A bunch of dealers at breakfast this morning estimated that “90 percent to…
The news hit the wires this week that Autobytel, one of the original third party auto sites, had hired RBC Capital Markets to explore its options, and was laying off 75 of its 225 workers. This was on top of…
With the real estate market in an indefinite doldrums, Zillow is transforming itself from an information provider about home sales to a full-service provider of information for home owners. The ad-supported service announced today that it is launching a Professional…
OK, we’ve got the format(s) and “best and brightest” speaker roster set for Interactive Local Media: Extending Local Channels, which is Nov. 19-21 in Santa Clara, California, next to San Jose. At the top of the list is Angie Hicks,…
LiveDeal, which has been aggressively pushing a joint classified and directory platform since its merger with YP.com last year, is moving in new directions with the arrival of new president and CEO Mike Edelhart. He replaced former YP.com head Dan…
While other media companies stave off bill collectors and even bankruptcy, Gannett is taking advantage of its cash reserves to buy larger shares of the local ecosystem. The newspaper and broadcast company, which purchased remaining shares in ShopLocal from Tribune…
It has been more than 90 days since former Yellowpages.com President Charles Stubbs took the helm at Primedia, the publisher of apartmentguide, rentals.com, newhomeguide.com and DistribuTech. We’ve followed Stubbs for a long time, and have naturally been curious about his…
Auto dealers have ramped up their use of online lead providers, according to a new dealer satisfaction study by J.D. Power, which was conducted in May and June with 4,141 respondents. They've gone from an average of 5.6 in 2006…
Bauer, a U.K. media company, is utilizing a classified ad platform in which users can text in their ads and send MMS photos. The platform is being used by Magic 105.4 and Magic Digital. It is a partnership of Mobiya,…
Real estate advertising revenues will give way to transaction revenues, at least in SoCal, as the Los Angeles Times Media Group teams with several partners to launch Zetabid, a new site that will display and auction foreclosed homes and other…
Since launching self-service EZ Ads in April 2007, Zillow.com has set a new standard for simple-to-buy, one-price ads, and 13,000 (mostly) local advertisers responded. Typical ad spends were about $50. Now as Zillow begins to have its inventory sold to…
