No longer a holdout for free, USA Today launches a paywall and digital-only subscription plan

Content on USA Today’s main digital news site has always been free. No longer. Earlier this month, Gannett’s flagship national paper quietly started to put some of its premium stories behind a paywall.

Those interested in reading further are asked to sign up for a digital-only subscription at $4.99 a month.

USA Today published a short note to potential digital subscribers, but Gannett otherwise has not announced the pivot to paid digital. A spokesperson described the offering as a test but said the company would not be willing to discuss business details until later this quarter.

However the design of the initiative is evident just looking at the site. Big investigations and some other stories are labeled “subscribe to view.” My colleague Tom Jones hit the wall last week trying to check out an exposé on sexual assault in the Peace Corps for his Poynter Report newsletter.

Another colleague received an email solicitation for full access to a COVID-19 database and the rest of USA Today’s coverage of the pandemic (at the same $4.99 a month rate).