Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Footnote partners with Gannett Newspapers

I received the below in my email from Footnote on June 26, with a note that the information wasn't to be released until today - July 1st.
We wanted to let you know of an exciting new partnership between Footnote and the largest newspaper publisher in the US, the Gannett Company. Gannett, publisher of 84 daily newspapers including USA Today, will be able to digitize their vast archives for the first time by working together with Footnote. Through this partnership Footnote Members will be able to access valuable historical newspapers never seen before on the internet.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Moon Landing and Woodstock, we have kicked off our partnership by digitizing the newspapers covering those events. We have recently launched the first runs of Florida Today and the Poughkeepsie Journal (NY). Footnote will continue to digitize the full run of those newspapers including all of the Poughkeepsie Journal, which goes back to 1785.

Visit our Moon Landing and Woodstock pages today and relive the 60’s man.
I'm sure the timing of this announcement isn't completely coincidental with their recent announcement that as of August 1, Footnote Annual Membership will increase by $10. Current subscribers can get a reduced subscription through the end of July.

I have to admit that while I have been very happy with what I have so far found on Footnote (in particular several Dawes Commission transcripts and some civil war documents) I was asking myself whether it was likely that enough information would be added to make extending my subscription worthwhile. I find myself searching Footnote every couple months to see what new items I find, which suggests I might be better off saving some money by buying an occasional monthly subscription, as opposed to the annual.

I found a list of Gannett newspapers; the only Missouri newspaper is The Springfield Leader, and there are no Illinois, or Texas newspapers. The Poughkeepsie Journal might provide some interesting finds for some of my early American ancestors, but as long as I'm only researching for myself, I'm not sure I really need daily access.

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