Craigslist founder donates $15 million for journalism ethics

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The founder of Craigslist has become a major supporter of journalism, and he’s just donated $15 million more.

Craig Newmark is giving $10 million to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and $5 million to the Poynter Institute in Florida. In both cases, the donations are to promote programs about ethics in the digital age.

Newmark says is philanthropy has nothing to do with the perception Craigslist was harmful to journalism because the online classified ad site siphoned away a major revenue source for newspapers when it was launched in 1995.