[jeremymims]

This isn't all that surprising.

Regional papers rely on wire services for national stories. Thus, it doesn't matter which newspaper you read, you'll probably be reading the AP's story. You might just as easily read the "really good" original article at The New York Times (it's only a Google search away). The regionals also cover a larger geographic area which means they're getting pinched on their truly local coverage. On an average day they'll have less relevant local content than the small local paper.

The other big disadvantage of regional newspapers is that advertisers don't want to effectively throw away their ad dollars spending to buy a region when they could buy a better targeted town or neighborhood. It's just less efficient for most types of businesses.

[dhimes]

By local BIG paper I specifically mean the Boston Globe or Boston Herald.

I would rather take out an ad in the Globe than in a bunch of smaller papers (one per town, but they are grouped under umbrella companies so it's not quite as bad as it sounds), but not if my prospects aren't going to read it.

Small regional papers may be better vectors for small regional businesses, but I would guess that Sears, Friday's and Pep Boys would also prefer to cover a larger area.