Newspapers Forgo Rich Media In Classifieds

Virtually all newspapers now publish online classifieds, but many don't take full advantage of the Web's interactive and display capabilities, according to a recent University of Missouri-Columbia study.

For the study, "Interactivity and vividness in U.S. newspapers' online classified ads," graduate student Sarah Farebrother and assistant professor of journalism Shelly Rodgers examined online classified ads of 24 newspapers over a two-day period in March. The papers ranged in size from the 2,110-circulation Nebraska City News-Press to the 900,000-plus circulation Los Angeles Times. Almost all of the papers' Web sites--91.6 percent--offered classified ads in three categories--automotive, employment, and real estate.

Researchers found that fewer than half of the papers' online classified sites included e-mail alerts--features that allow users to save searches and register to be notified by e-mail when new ads match the criteria. E-mail alerts were more likely to be offered for job ads than car or real estate ads.

None of the newspapers studied used audio clips, 4.2 percent used video, and 8.3 percent used audio/video clips. Chat functionality appeared in only 2.8 percent of the papers studied.

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