Craiglist Takes Away Ads from The San Francisco Chronicle

The L.A.Times reports:

When Jeffrey Zalles needed a new cashier for his coin laundry in the South of Market district, his help-wanted ad in the San Francisco Chronicle brought just four responses.

So Zalles posted a notice on Craigslist, a San Francisco-based network of websites that specialize in classified advertising. His cyber-ad drew 400 applicants.


Zalles found his cashier and hasn't relied on the Chronicle since, advertising instead on the Internet and the city's array of free papers.

The venerable Chronicle is struggling, and defections by Zalles and other advertisers are a big reason. Classified ads are a big source of income for the Chronicle and the newspaper business as a whole, making up 27% of the industry's revenue, with 53% from other ads and 20% from people buying the paper.

The triumph of Craiglist.