In response to the financial success of The Tabs, which earned $12 million in annual revenue by 1989, the Globe launched its own weekly section aimed at the same demographic.
The Tabs were among several free publications across the United States that pressured the respective traditional paid newspaper operators in their markets.
[4] After solidifying the Tab's position in Boston and the near-west suburbs, the company joined a 1985 rush to capture the MetroWest market.
NewsWest mailed 45,000 free copies per week, hitting every home in Dover, Natick, Needham, Sherborn, Sudbury, Wayland, Wellesley and Weston.
[6] Over the next few years, NewsWest added several more towns to its distribution area -- Hopkinton, Marlborough, Needham, Southborough, Westborough—and in 1989 approached Tab Communications in an attempt to buy it.
[7] Following a tough year economically, Tab in 1991 sent a letter to its subscribers asking for a voluntary donation of US$10 to keep the newspapers, and community events they sponsored, afloat.
Cummings and Pergament stayed on as heads of Tab Communications, which formed a semi-autonomous division of Community Newspaper Company.