It reads pretty much like the chapter of a book--actually, almost like the book itself--but if you're interested in the development of Craigslist, it's worth taking the time to plow through a discursive piece by Ryan Blitstein in SFWeekly.com. Blitstein's takeout goes deep, deep into the workings of the San Francisco-based online classifieds juggernaut. Here you'll learn about the company's history, its hero-founder Craig Newmark, its challenges, its future strategies, and its increasingly negative impact on ad revenues at the nation's print newspapers. Interestingly, Blitstein argues that the success of Craigslist has harmed not just profits at important newspapers, but …

Hobbled newspaper publisher Knight Ridder, which is up for auction, appears as though it will attract a bid from a trio of high-profile private-equity firms, reports The Wall Street Journal. The alliance is comprised of the Blackstone Group, Providence Equity Partners, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. While the buyout firms have an interest in KR, they are concerned that the $4 billion market capitalization is too high for the San Diego-based publisher of the Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, and 30 other papers. The "formation of the consortium represents a small but telling sign of interest for an auction that has been …