Rusbridger on Craigslist: 'The beginning of the end for local newspapers'

In an article in Guardian Weekend, the paper's editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, looks at the major developments in communications since 2000 and comments on the potential impact of Craigslist on local newspapers.

He says of Craigslist: "Until 2000, this classified advertising database existed only in San Francisco. Come the new millennium, it expanded into nine more US cities. It is now in nearly 600 cities in more than 50 countries (thank you, Wikipedia). I remember a Guardian Media Group board meeting when one of our in-house digital gurus patiently explained its business model – essentially, free to both advertiser and reader. It then operated from a small building in San Francisco and had 17 employees. I sat there thinking, "This is the beginning of the end for local newspapers." Nothing has happened since to change my mind."