Craigslist’s Forced Censorship of Erotic Ads Saves Journalism Industry

06-02-2009 • Wired

Craigslist’s new policy barring the publication of erotic ads has not only saved lives and stopped prostitution, it’s also saving the dying newspaper industry. After the site announced last month under pressure that it would no longer publish erotic ads, sales of erotic ads in local alternative weekly newspapers have soared, according to the Washington City Paper. The paper reports its own sales of adult ads was up 38 percent in the first week of May as criticism against Craigslist was heating up, compared to the same time last year. Minneapolis’ City Pages says its adult ad sales have almost doubled. And SF Weekly in San Francisco had 160 adult ads the week before Craigslist’s policy went into affect but clocked in with 910 ads last week. Craigslist withdrew erotic ads after a 22-year-old Boston medical student allegedly murdered a woman who advertised erotic services on the web site. A week earlier, a New York City radio reporter was found murdered after placing an ad on Cra