WebProNews

Although Hearst Corp and MediaNews Group are linchpins in Yahoo's newspaper/online classified alliance, the two publishers have made an investment in online classified ad provider Kaango.

The newspaper industry has always been more interested in keeping money in-house rather than sharing even a little with others. Publishers have big egos, and depending on someone else to bring home the bacon doesn't have much appeal, even with the newsprint industry facing financial troubles.

Even the newspaper-savvy duo of Yahoo's Sue Decker and Hilary Schneider, architects of Yahoo's HotJobs alliance with the print classified industry, aren't appealing enough to keep the publishers' eyes from wandering to other girls and fantasizing about their revenue undergarments.

Classified Intelligence recounted the recent deal with Kaango by Hearst and MediaNews, a $20 million infusion that gave them an 80 percent stake in the company. Kaango has deals with about a hundred newspapers for community-oriented classified sites.

There is no mincing of words when it comes to why Hearst and MediaNews bought into Kaango, as well as cutting Lee Enterprises in for a ten percent stake. They want to take on Craigslist as well as eBay's classifieds product, Kijiji.

Details of the deal came as news to Yahoo, according to Classified Intelligence. A Yahoo spokesperson said the company was not aware of the Kaango announcement and requested more details about it from Classified Intelligence.

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