So, two contests, one for college students, and one for media and advertising pros.

I hope you’ll spread the word — or enter yourself. Deadline for both competitions is December 31, 2008.

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It’s in wiki format, and I’m asking your help in writing it.

Read about it in more detail over there, but briefly it’s in response to Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt’s public fretting about the state of newspapers and investigative journalism, and his suggestion that Google has a “moral imperative” to help figure out a new advertising model that will support important watchdog and investigative journalism.

If Google is willing to help, then the newspaper industry should take Schmidt up on that.

Here’s a video from AdAge.com of Schmidt sounding the alarm bell:

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I’d have to say that most people didn’t get my real intent; I’m feeling a bit like the artist for the New Yorker who did that (great, IMHO) cartoon with the Obamas as terrorists. One argument against me is that it’s unseemly for the newspaper industry to “beg” for help from Craig & Co. There’s also a sentiment by some that newspaper executives screwed up so badly that they deserve to see the industry go down in smoke. A new “Fifth Estate” is building, said one commenter, which will replace the flawed newspaper model.

My reactions to some of the criticisms are peppered within the comment thread.

BTW, I’ve asked if Craigslist intends to respond. I still don’t know, but CEO Jim Buckmaster assured me he is not “annoyed” by my letter, and he’ll let me know if they decide to respond. Stay tuned.

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Briefly, the premise is that Craigslist could help out the newspaper industry — and it’s in Craig’s interest to do so. Based on public statements from Craigslist executives Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, I think that they might like to help save the jobs of professional journalists.

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More thoughts over on ReinventingClassifieds.com.

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Over on my ReinventingClassified.com project, we’ve opened up a contest for college students (and recent grads), asking them to offer their ideas for solving the newspaper industry’s classifieds crisis.

Best essay (or video, audio, multimedia presentation, or whatever) wins $250. There’s a runner-up award of $50.

I believe that newspapers need to pretty much write off much of their old model and find a new way when it comes to classifieds. Professionals have started to offer their ideas on the site; now let’s see what the next generation of media folks can come up with.

Announcement here. Entry form here. PDF announcement flyer here.

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You can read about what we’re doing here: Can newspaper classifieds really be saved? The answer to that question is yes, I believe. But ONLY if newspaper publishers are willing to completely reinvent themselves. I don’t think that incremental changes or improvements to the newspaper classifieds model will be enough.

Frankly, I often feel pretty pessimistic about the newspaper industry. industry leaders seem to give me plenty of reason to see the glass as half empty and draining. But I am optimistic that through this and an affiliated initiative by Christopher Ryan of Future of News that there’s a way out of the darkness.

One of the keys to ReinventingClassifieds.com is serving as a showplace for innovative ideas by industry leaders and innovators. I’m starting to poke around and ask the industry’s brightest people to share their ideas about what it will take to save newspaper classifieds. I’ve already got a couple yes answers from people that I’m very excited to hear their thoughts.

If you’ve got a good answer to the question “What strategies do you believe are necessary to turn around the newspaper classifieds business?” please contact me (steve@outing.us). I’d love to add your perspective to the discussion we’re starting on ReinventingClassifieds.com.

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Go here to take the poll.

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Reading that duo’s thoughts, you’d be within reason to think that the newspaper industry will not recover because it’s incapable of the radical change necessary for newspaper classifieds to survive in the Internet age. Having seen the industry react too slowly and not aggressively enough on so many fronts over the last 15 years (when the Internet first burst into public consciousness), I have my doubts too that it can suddenly “get the Internet religion” and come up with something so bold and innovative to save classifieds. But I haven’t given up hope.

Sometime back in the ’90s I wrote a research report for Editor & Publisher on online classifieds, and I continue to have more than a passing interest in newspaper classifieds. I’d like to see the industry save those revenues, in order to fund the important journalism that newspaper companies produce. I’m currently involved in a couple of interesting new projects (and resisting the call to find a “real job” ), and one of them is aimed at reinventing and saving newspaper classifieds.

The classifieds project remains in stealth mode while we design and build the initiatives that will be part of it. But as we progress, we intend to be open about what we’re doing and use industry input to design the best solutions to what are now some very serious problems. Sorry not to offer more information, but this project is in its earliest stages. I do think that the ideas we’re working on have a good chance of solving some of newspapers’ problems.

I’ll post here as bits and pieces of our project are ready, and the project will have its own website ready soon: ReinventingClassifieds.com. For now there’s nothing there but a Coming Soon page and a 5-second poll.

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But being an old newspaper guy, I felt it only fair to give my local paper’s classified ads a chance. So I took a look. Good grief! They’re next to worthless!

The paper’s classifieds listings for Office Space For Fease are sparse compared to Craigslist’s — only 39 ads turned up on a search of the paper’s website. But worse, the ads are typical print newspaper length. Just as in print, the ads present a few words to advertise an office for lease. Here’s a typical ad:

Riverbend Office Park across from Bldr Foothills Hosp. 300-2600sf. $12.50 NNN. $450-$3900/mo gross. 303-449-5389

Most Craigslist ads, on the other hand, include lengthy text, often some photos, and when there’s an address in the ad a link to a Google Map showing the location. Some of the smarter landlords also include links to PDF flyers for the properties. There’s enough information on most Craigslist ads to know whether it’s worth it to call. Mostly that’s not so on the newspaper classifieds.

I find this frustrating. How long has the newspaper industry known about the Craigslist threat? The best my local paper can do is shovel print text ads onto the Web? Pathetic.

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