Yahoo cuts ad deal with 176 newspapers

Yahoo Inc. said Monday that it has struck a deal with the publishers of 176 U.S. newspapers to let them use its technology to sell help-wanted advertising and offer a variety of local information services.

The move is Yahoo’s attempt to expand its reach into local markets, viewed as a key growth prospect as it battles rivals such as Google Inc. for advertising dollars.

For publishers, it is a bid to expand their audience and advertising revenue as more readers drop the print editions of their papers in favor of getting their news and classified ads from the Internet.

The publishers include Belo Corp., Cox Newspapers Inc., Hearst Newspapers, Journal Register Co., Lee Enterprises Inc., MediaNews Group Inc. and E.W. Scripps Co.

Their newspapers circulate in 38 states, and include major metropolitan dailies such as the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News and the Los Angeles Daily News.

“We believe the local segment is largely untapped and provides significant opportunities to expand audience engagement and subsequently grow local advertising,” Yahoo Chief Executive Terry Semel said.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.