• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, October 30, 2006

In its third major newspaper partnership in as many months, Monster.com has forged a deal with the Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. to power online job listings for the paper, replacing CareerBuilder.com on the site. The change will take effect in late November.

In August, Monster.com struck a similar deal with the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News; earlier this month, the online job site agreed to start a co-branded job section on the Akron Beacon Journal's Ohio.com site. CareerBuilder was a joint venture among several newspaper companies including Gannett Corp., Tribune Co., and Knight Ridder.

Peter Newton, Monster's senior vice president for small and medium business, told the Times Leader that Monster.com intended to pursue deals with newspapers to expand in local markets. "Newspapers are our first preference. Going it alone is more difficult for us," he told the newspaper.

Gordon Borrell, president of Internet research firm Borrell Associates, previously told OnlineMediaDaily that Monster.com needed to forge alliances with newspapers to boost online ads from small businesses. "It needs the local promotion that a newspaper, TV or radio station can give it," he said.

McClatchy earlier this year acquired the Times Leader from Knight Ridder, then sold it to the private investment group Wilkes-Barre Publishing Co. for $65 million.