CNN Wire Goes 'A La Carte' for Newspapers

By: Joe Strupp CNN, which earlier this year started a syndication service to distribute its content to newspapers, has launched an a la carte version that allows news outlets to buy stories online one at a time.

The CNN Wire Store, which went up at midnight, makes its stories available to license and download for $199 per story on a single-use basis. Editors can use a credit card to complete the transaction, according to an announcement.

The site, at www.cnnwirestore.com, also allows publishers to browse through CNN Wire articles, hold selected articles for review, and download story content on demand.

"In discussions with publishers and journalists about the news industry and the changing face of the marketplace, CNN earlier this year expanded the offerings of the existing CNN Wire service and made it available for subscription," the announcement states. "And now CNN provides the new CNN Wire Store for publishers needing content for single use and on demand basis."

CNN Wire was launched earlier this year as a way for newspapers seeking outside national and international content to use the news network's content in print and online.

But it requires customers to sign up as syndication clients. The new a la carte service can be used on an as-needed basis.

"CNN understands the changing business landscape of journalism and the marketplace. The expanded CNN Wire provides an opportunity for a new platform to make CNN Wire stories easily accessible, and for the first time, on a per-story basis to any publisher, anywhere on their own timetable. With the launch of the CNN Wire Store website, we've made our original journalism easily available to other publishers on demand," Susan Grant, executive vice president of CNN News Services, said in a statement.