Large newspapers are going under fast. I know this personally, because I used to work (well, volunteer) as a teen staff writer for "the Tulsa World", Tulsa's paper. It is a relatively large "metro daily", and its sales have been decreasing steadily and rapidly. The teen section, "Satellite" was started a few years before I joined its staff as one of the efforts to turn around the declining trends. While I was at the paper, several huge changes were made. They started putting display ads on the front pages of sections, which, according to our editor, was a sign of the Apocalypse. They also really worked on the paper's website to pull readers--especially younger readers-- through that medium.
The paper was really declining because it had to cover so many areas. The Tulsa county area is growing, and the suburbs of Tulsa (Broken Arrow, Jenks, Sapulpa...) are getting larger. As they grow, they depend more upon their own local papers for news. The Tulsa World has too broad of an audience to focus its news.
The Internet also has a huge effect. Readers, especially teenagers, are increasingly going to the web for news. The Tulsa World has, I feel unsuccessfully, tried to increase its online presence with added blogs, podcasts, video interviews and montages of photos on the website.
On the other hand, the Jenks Journal and the Broken Arrow Ledger (local papers) are growing so quickly that they don't have enough staff to cover the need. I almost worked at both of these papers (at different periods), but, honestly, I was put off by how unprofessional they were. They have a long way to go to be as "legit" as the Tulsa World... but maybe that's what the locals like about them. These local papers contain a local sound and feel; they usually aren't stuffy or boring at all. They have local news and events and have more room for personality profiles and local flavor.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=2754&Nav_Sec=77225
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