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USA Today plans countrywide expansion

USA Today is planning to expand its coverage across the country, placing reporters in Miami, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and out in the Mountain West, editor-in-chief David Callaway wrote in an email to staff on Monday afternoon.

The reporters, who will be both internal and external hires, will focus on breaking news and enterprise coverage in their regions and will "raise the flag" of USA Today in those areas, Callaway said.

The announcement of the expansion was made in the context of moving Alan Gomez, an immigration reporter for the paper, down to Miami to become a "Latin/Central/South American correspondent" and columnist. Gomez will become a member of a new team of "voices," Callaway wrote, who will contribute to a daily column that will start in 2014.

"The idea is to leverage some of our great newsroom talent so that our digital and print readership will get to know the personalities behind the headlines," Callaway said.

The expansion comes as USA Today's parent company, Gannett, plans to insert a condensed version of the paper into 35 local newspapers early next year, eventually expanding the program to all of Gannett's 81 local newspaper markets, the company announced last week. By incorporating USA Today into local papers, the New York Times reports "Gannett is able to increase the national paper’s circulation by roughly 1.5 million readers during the week and 2.5 million readers on Sundays, and then try to sell advertising against these larger numbers."

See Callaway's full memo after the jump:

Folks, I’m pleased to announce that Alan Gomez will move to Miami early in the New Year to become a Latin/Central/South American correspondent for us, and a columnist. Alan has spearheaded our immigration coverage over the last year, and underscored his versatility recently by producing a fine feature on the Puerto Rican debt crisis and a front page spot story last week on the Obama-Castro handshake at Mandela’s service. There are two components to this move. The first is that Alan will be one in a series of moves and hires we hope to achieve next year to spread our coverage across the country, beyond even the vast Gannett newspaper and broadcast empire. I’m hoping to quickly get USA Today reporters in Boston, Chicago, Vegas, and out in the Mountain West, to focus on breaking news and enterprise coverage and raise our flag in those cities and regions. Please let me know if you have any interest in any of these places, or know reporters — or editors — out there worth pursuing. The second is that Alan will become a member of a new team of “voices” who will write a daily column for us in 2014, both print and online. Alan will focus on Hispanic coverage, bringing his style of combining human stories with complex issues to the analytical column. He’ll write once a week. He’ll still report to William Dermody. We will be looking for others to contribute to the column as well, such as Rem Rieder. The idea is to leverage some of our great newsroom talent so that our digital and print readership will get to know the personalities behind the headlines. All are invited to inquire about the opportunities here. Please join me in congratulating Alan on his new assignment and in planning to visit him in Miami come February. Cheers. Dave

Hadas Gold is a reporter at Politico.