the newspaper business

Lou Heldman is Distinguished Senior Fellow in Media Management and Journalism at Wichita State University. He is retired president and publisher of the Wichita Eagle and Kansas.com.

In nine months since I was carried from the bloody arena of the newspaper business and ascended to the ivory tower, I’ve gained this perspective: Most newspapers don’t need the best new idea to grow their classifieds business. They mostly need to get better at executing what they already know. 

He then offers his “wish I would have done it” list.PS: just to clarify, I am a newspaper relic too!

Under the terms of the settlement, NAR will repeal its anticompetitive policies and require affiliated multiple listing services (MLSs) to repeal their rules that were based on these policies. NAR will enact a new policy
that guarantees that Internet-based brokerage companies will not be treated differently than traditional brokers. Under the new policy, brokers participating in a NAR-affiliated MLS will not be permitted to withhold
their listings from brokers who serve their customers through virtual office websites (VOWs). In addition, brokers will be able to use VOWs to educate consumers, make referrals, and conduct brokerage services. Such
brokers will not be excluded from MLS membership based on their business model. NAR will report to the Department any allegations of noncompliance.
http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/real_estate/index.htm

Every newspaper has a web channel. Why not expand that and offer a classified web channel featuring video of sellers and their items?
Ebay did it with great results in France.
I can visualize setting up a day or two and folks bring in their items and do 10-15 seconds referring to ad in newspaper. Or putting their video on Youtube.com and the newspaper embeds the video.
How cool would that be?

Myrtle Beach thinks those little ads in the back of the paper use up too much newsprint, so they are dropping them from their editions on Monday and Tuesday.

“the region’s largest classified inventory available anywhere” will be available on MyrtleBeachOnline.com. 

Says the V.P. and Editor Trisha O’Connor.

What? The editor decides to drop advertising?  Those little ads are usually sold for multiple day runs - 7, 14, 30 days, etc. There is some lost revenue in this plan. Unless her classified department is a dud and doesn’t have ANY ads on Monday or Tuesday.

Not hard to believe that an editor doesn’t think those little ads are readership items either. When the rest of the newspaper is very small, the importance of those little ads as readership is multiplied dramatically.

Before I’d kill classified ads in Monday and Tuesday in print, I’d give them away. Unless readership isn’t important to Editor O’Connor.