I remember the days as an adolescent when I would read the newspaper in the morning before school. Now, that being said, my involvement with the Minneapolis Star Tribune revolved around two sections, Sports and the back of the Metro Region (to see if it was going to warm enough to wear shorts. 60 degrees was the qualifier).
Apart from my days living at home, I have never had a local newspaper subscription. I do have a few magazine subscriptions, but these now come with an optional iPad app version.
I have however, recently found a very useful, informative and applicable print offering in the St Louis Business Journal. This publication and 41 others around the country make up The Business Journals and are a division of American City Business Journals.
This great resource not only comes with a weekly print version but also offers a great iPad or iPhone application. Now, the best part of this subscription is the annual “Book of Lists” that comes with your subscription fee (around $50). Within this holy grail of information lists anything and everything you would ever want to help find new business and new opportunities.
Complete listings (just to name a few):
– Largest temporary staffing firms – who is hiring?
– Largest privately held companies – who is growing?
– Public Companies – “oh, they’re headquartered here?!”
– Largest nonprofit companies – nonprofits buy furniture too…
– Largest school districts – Smartlink anyone?
– Largest banks – any new branches planned?
Within the weekly print and iPad application you will also find listings for upcoming networking events, chamber of commerce meetings, expansion plans, company and individual profiles, and leads in the form of new branch openings, new businesses started and construction under way.
A quick read of the Monday edition of the journal will give you numerous opportunities to follow-up on, as well as stay informed in your local area. So, I may never subscribe to the St Louis Post Dispatch or the Minneapolis Star Tribune again, but I can say for certain that I will always renew my Business Journal, wherever I am.
Forward 
In my days as a dealer account manager, I often found opportunities in the listing of commercial building permits — small print in the back of the Business Journal. Once I had qualified them as appropriate leads, I was frequently the first to make contact, and some good projects followed. Lesson learned: look where no one else is looking.