The time has come for us to launch Digital Access. We have spent the past eight months investing heavily in improving the quality and quantity of the content that we deliver to you, and you have noticed. Thank you for your encouragement and the many letters you send us. We know that the Orange County community roots for the Register in the same way it roots for its other hometown teams, the Angels and the Ducks.

Beginning this week, all of the Register’s original content will be available exclusively to our subscribers or to those who pay for à la carte digital access. The reason for this change is simple and consistent with our mission of being “here in the service of Orange County.” We are dedicated to ensuring the satisfaction of our loyal customers, and we understand how frustrating it can be to know that others are getting for free the same value you are paying for.

Using the Register’s Digital Access is simple. As a subscriber, you need only to link your current subscription to a new digital one. If not a subscriber, you will be offered a seven-day free trial just for creating an account, after which you will need to add payment details. If you are a seven-day subscriber, you can access all of the Register’s digital content in any format you choose (computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.) at any time for free. If you have a less-than-daily subscription, your free content will be limited to the days of your subscription. We are also introducing a Daily Pass, which allows anyone with an account to buy 24-hour access to the Register’s digital content for $2.

Lots of free content will be available to nonsubscribers. All headlines, section pages, weather, car listings, job listings, real estate listings, OC Varsity and much more will remain open to every site visitor. In addition, 90 days after we publish an article it will become free to everyone, subscriber and nonsubscriber alike.

We understand that our approach is a bit unconventional, and that some people may be annoyed at having to pay for something they were accustomed to getting for free. Our loyalty is to our subscribers. We designed Digital Access for you, and we plan to continue to innovate on your behalf indefinitely. Look for our upcoming Register Connect program, which includes benefits like free tickets to sporting events, free restaurant gift cards and the very popular Golden Envelope nonprofit gift cheques.

We are proud of the Register, and we ask you to share our pride. We are here in the service of Orange County.

– Aaron Kushner, Orange County Register publisher and Freedom Communications CEO