• by Sara Guaglione , May 22, 2020

Next week, Gannett debuts an ad sales and news initiative, “Rebuilding America,” which covers the reopening of the U.S. economy after months of lockdown, as well as provide advertising opportunities for businesses.

Starting May 31, the initiative will launch across Gannett’s 260 regional newspapers and USA Today, according to Poynter, which first reported the news.

The company identified 12 categories for editorial content and corporate ads, including: healthcare, education, home services, restaurants, dining, financial/insurance, travel/tourism, arts/entertainment, sports, automotive/transportation, food/grocery and real estate.

A promotional video teases the initiative, making clear these content categories are also marketing opportunities for businesses to “tell their story” and “get back to business.”

The national editorial and sales teams at USA Today will anchor the initiative by covering what tourism and restaurants may look like as the U.S. reopens.

Those stories will be complemented by reporting from local journalists, such as an auto industry piece from the DetroitFree-Press.

Reporters will also produce “close-to-home” sidebars that focus on their respective communities, which will accompany the national trend pieces.

USA Today Network’s largest sites will produce 10 to 12 stories, medium-sized sites will aim for six to eight and the smallest sites will plan for four to eight, according to a Gannett presentation obtained by Poynter.

Editors can choose the most relevant stories for their publications.