USA TODAY combines online and print newsrooms

USA TODAY announced it is combining the newspaper and website newsrooms to create a single USA TODAY news operation, similar to a move The New York Times announced earlier this year.

As part of the changes, USATODAY.com Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Kinsey Wilson has been promoted to executive editor of USA TODAY, joining current executive editor John Hillkirk in that role. Hillkirk and Wilson will share oversight of daily news operations and content development, reporting directly to USA TODAY Editor Ken Paulson.

"The goal in combining the two newsrooms is to create a single 24-hour news organization that will inform and engage readers on multiple platforms," said Paulson. "That means going beyond arm's-length collaboration. Starting today our goal is to begin conceiving and planning our coverage as one unit, thinking more strategically about the deployment of our newsgathering resources in a world in which news has become an on-demand commodity."

Wilson said news operations would be combined in stages as staffs become more familiar with the demands of publishing to multiple platforms.

"We will start by looking at areas such as travel, entertainment and breaking news, where we already have a good history of collaboration, and see how we can integrate our operations more effectively. We'll build from there," Wilson said.

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Press Release

USA TODAY Combines Online and Print Newsrooms

MCLEAN, Va. -- USA TODAY President and Publisher Craig Moon and USATODAY.com Senior Vice President and Publisher Jeff Webber announced today that the website newsroom will be combined with the newspaper newsroom to create a single USA TODAY news operation.

Additionally, USA TODAY Editor Ken Paulson announced that USATODAY.com Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Kinsey Wilson has been promoted to executive editor of USA TODAY, joining current executive editor John Hillkirk in that role. Hillkirk and Wilson will share oversight of daily news operations and content development, reporting directly to Paulson.

Moon and Webber said the move to combine the newsrooms is a response to the growing importance of the Internet as a vehicle for news delivery. The new structure will allow both operations to begin working together to make the transition from a world of stand-alone news products to one in which news is available where, when and how consumers desire.

"The goal in combining the two newsrooms is to create a single 24-hour news organization that will inform and engage readers on multiple platforms," said Paulson. "That means going beyond arm's-length collaboration. Starting today our goal is to begin conceiving and planning our coverage as one unit, thinking more strategically about the deployment of our newsgathering resources in a world in which news has become an on-demand commodity."

Wilson said news operations would be combined in stages as staffs become more familiar with the demands of publishing to multiple platforms.

"We will start by looking at areas such as travel, entertainment and breaking news, where we already have a good history of collaboration, and see how we can integrate our operations more effectively. We'll build from there," Wilson said.

Hillkirk said the merger of the staffs will enhance the journalism in both the newspaper and online.

"By combining the newsrooms, we will be able to improve our report to readers both in print and online. This will allow us to develop a better understanding of the expanded storytelling capabilities," Hillkirk said.

Webber, to whom Wilson previously had reported, will continue to oversee the business operations of the website.

USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 36 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide. The USA TODAY brand also includes: USA TODAY Sports Weekly, a magazine for enthusiasts of professional football and baseball; USATODAY.com, an award-winning news and information website that is updated 24 hours per day; and USA TODAY LIVE, the television arm of the USA TODAY brand that brings the spirit and quality of the newspaper to television.

USATODAY.com, which launched April 17, 1995, ranks among the most popular newspaper websites. Updated 24 hours per day, seven days per week, the website had 10.4 million unique visitors according to October 2005 Nielsen NetRatings. These unique monthly visitors access USATODAY.com News, Money, Sports, Life, Technology, Weather and Travel sections which combine the best of USA TODAY news and information and the latest breaking news with cutting-edge interactive features, information graphics and multimedia functions including audio, video and live webcasts.

USA TODAY and USATODAY.com are published by Gannett Co., Inc.

December 13, 2005 | BY JONATHAN DUBE

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