Gannett to build paywalls around all its US newspapers - except USA Today
The US’s largest newspaper publisher, Gannett, is planning is planning to switch over all of its 80 community newspapers to a paid model by the end of the year.
The Forbes website quotes Bob Dickey, the company’s president of the community publishing arm, as telling investors: “We will begin to restrict some access to non-subscribers. The model is similar to the metered system adopted by the New York Times a year ago, in which online readers are able to view a limited number of pages for free each month.”
Dickey added: “That quota will be between five and 15 articles, depending on the paper." Six Gannett papers already have a digital pay system in place.
However, one Gannett title – USA Today - will remain free, at least for the foreseeable future.
According to Forbes, Gannett projects its new paid content initiative will contribute to a 25% increase in annual subscription revenues companywide which will increase earnings by $100 million per year.
Gannett owns the British newspaper chain, Newsquest, which has 183 titles, including The Herald, Sunday Herald and the Glasgow Evening Times.