Gannett has been grappling with a decline in print newspaper revenue for years but has recently enjoyed success with an increased focus on paid digital subscriptions, which are viewed as crucial to the success of media companies as newspaper dollars decline. The company reported Friday that digital subscriptions rose 37% in the first quarter to about 1.2 million, compared with a year earlier. Gannett's strategy to further bolster that figure includes a budding plan to charge for access to certain USA TODAY content, Gannett CEO Mike Reed said on the company's earnings call. "We are in the process of rolling out a paid strategy" for USA TODAY's online content, he said on the call, describing it as being in an early stage.