Gannett Puts Up Paywall For USA Today

USA Today announced Wednesday some of its digital content will be behind a paywall going forward, though many stories will remain free to read online, reports The Wrap.

“We’ve become part of your daily news habit, and we’re honored to serve you,” wrote president of news and publisher Maribel Perez Wadsworth and editor in chief Nicole Carroll in the announcement, citing internal statistics that show USA Today’s digital platforms garner about 90 million unique visitors a month. “Now we’re asking our readers to help support premium journalism.”

The Gannett-owned company pointed to its network of local papers and outlets, its history of on-the-ground reporting from a variety of American cities and its diverse coverage areas while making the appeal.

“Your subscription is an investment in quality journalism that’s worth paying for, journalism that strengthens our communities and our nation,” they wrote, before highlighting the “big plans” the revenue will help fund: “We’re continuing to invest in our investigative reporting (most recently breaking a string of exclusive stories from the Surfside condo collapse). We’re creating new ways to present content clearly and quickly (check out this visualization on tornado alley). We’re bringing in new voices (have you read Connie Schultz?) to help make sense of this complicated world we share. And just wait until you see the team from USA Today cover Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics.”

Print and digital subscribers now have full access to the paywalled stories.