Yahoo! Bridges the Gap

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Is it really up to Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) to teach old-economy stocks some new-economy tricks? In yet another pairing with an old-school media company, Yahoo! will be updating the online offerings at Media General's (NYSE: MEG) 25 daily newspapers.

In a deal similar to the one that Yahoo! struck two weeks ago with a consortium of seven newspaper publishers representing 150 different papers, Yahoo! will help Media General's online classifieds by incorporating its popular HotJobs.com job listing and recruiting features.

Yesterday, Brian Gorman wrote about Yahoo! hooking up with Reuters (Nasdaq: RTRSY) in a user-generated eye candy content deal. So what's the deal with Yahoo! digging this deep into more conventional enlighteners?

It's about making inroads in local search, of course. Whether it's in an archaic form like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) moving to sell print ads, or this week's launch of IAC/InterActiveCorp.'s (Nasdaq: IACI) AskCity, the major search portals want to win you over at the local level. Oh, and by you I don't mean just you the consumer, but also the merchant down the road who has never thought of turning to paid search as a way to generate foot traffic into her fledgling antique store.

Old-media stalwarts won't mind the lifeline. They see the Internet as a cure for the print stagnancy. It's a delicate balance, of course, as traditional media companies want to grow online and are partnering with companies that want to ultimately supplant them. It may not be something to worry about now, but it won't hurt if these old media companies start strategizing now to find out who will push whom off that bridge once they get there.

Yahoo! is an active recommendation in the Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter service.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a frequent Yahoo! visitor, but he does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.