When I'm looking for a no-nonsense sans serif face, I look to Franklin Gothic first. Gill Sans pairs well with Caslon 224 and Walbaum. Therefore, its similarities to Gill are strong. But Lucida is even a bit more playful and less stuffy. It's just right if you want to give your newspaper a more contemporary, more friendly feel.
Myriad is an intriguing face that can be both fun and serious.
I think you're going to see more and more of this face as the next few years go by. Compacta, Frutiger, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica Compressed, Helvetica Condensed. Although I favor Helvetica Neue, Helvetica Compressed and Helvetica Condensed, I do my best to avoid regular Helvetica. Helvetica is highly legible and I respect that when it's used in agate or classifieds. But despite its hold on newspapers for more than three to four decades, Helvetica as a display face is dull, dull, dull.