The Job Network LLC formed an alliance with Yahoo HotJobs to deliver search, graphical and classified advertising to local consumers.

The company, jointly owned by TownNews.com, RedMatch and the PAGE Co-op, will be able to offer its recruitment advertisers a larger candidate pool through the HotJobs Web site and give Yahoo an opportunity to access additional local newspaper markets, backers contend.

“Newspapers can choose to tell the major advertisers in their markets that they have the ability to distribute the employment ads through Yahoo HotJobs in addition with their own Job Network and their own local newspaper,” said Marc Wilson, president of the Job Network and chief executive officer and general manager for TownNews.com.

The Job Network signed a three-year agreement with Yahoo and newspapers can sign up for one year, Wilson said.

“At Yahoo HotJobs, users will click back to the newspaper’s own Job Network site,” Wilson said. “The newspaper gets to keep its own brand and it’s a much better story for the advertising department to be able to go to an advertiser and be able to say that if you buy an ad from us we’ll put it in our print product, our local Web site and if you want, we’ll have it distributed to Yahoo.”

Working smarter

The deal with Yahoo HotJobs will allow newspapers to take on the growing number of companies vying for local employment classified dollars.

“A problem that all newspapers have is there’s more competition overall, for advertising and readership,” Wilson said. “Smaller newspapers are more like a PT boat, they are easier to turn around than a metro daily, but they also have limited resources and have culture issues where they don’t want to change.”

The cultural issue is that newspapers are no longer the only option for local advertisers.

“It’s difficult for smaller newspapers to do the complete remake of themselves that’s necessary for them to capitalize on being the number one Internet player in town,” he said.

The relative lack of competition in their markets gives smaller newspapers a slight breather before other rivals come into town.

“If the newspaper management recognizes the need to change in a smaller market and they perceive a change they can successfully own the number one and number two media buys in the market,” Wilson said. “Number one being the print product and number two being its online newspaper.”