A new study conducted at the University of Missouri’s graduate school or journalism shows that dramatic gaps exist between thh classified offerings of large newspaper publishers, smaller publishers and online-only players. They are missing the opportunity to use audio, video and other technologies, reports Enid Burns for ClikcZ Stats.

The research paper, “Interactivity and Vividness in U.S. Newspapers’ Online Classified Ads,” was written by graduate student Sarah Farebrother and assistant professor of journalism Shelly Rodgers. Farebrother evaluated the automotive, employment and real estate classifieds at 24 online newspapers of various sizes, examining their interactive and rich media features.

Only 4.2% deploy video clips, and 8.3% of sites deploy audio/video clips, which are extremely low. Photos, animation and sarch funcionality are often deployed on large newspapers.

Source: ClickZ Stats.