USA Today Press Release: How to Get Your News on USA Today (Cost + Requirements)
Quick Answer
A USA Today press release is an announcement published in the press release section of usatoday.com, a paid service distributed by XPR Media and labeled as such on each release page, not a story written by USA Today journalists. Companies get there by buying a placement through a distribution service, and the release has to pass editorial review against strict format and topic rules. Coverage written by a USA Today reporter is a separate, free route that nobody can sell you.
What Is a USA Today Press Release?
USA Today hosts a dedicated press release section on usatoday.com, where each release gets its own page. The text is supplied by the company making the announcement or by its agency, not by USA Today reporters.
The section comes from an agreement Gannett announced with XPR Media on June 4, 2025: press releases distributed by XPR Media would reach the USA TODAY Network, described as more than 200 publications, along with a dedicated press release section. Gannett has since renamed itself USA TODAY Co. According to XPR Media's website, it works only with PR, digital and SEO agencies, which is why businesses typically buy a placement through a distributor.
Releases in the section credit the distribution service that sent them, such as PressAdvantage, Pinion Newswire or EdgeNewswire. Services that sell placements in this section include those distributors and RedPress, which arranges its USA Today press release placement through XPR Media, USA Today's authorized distribution partner.
How a USA Today press release is labeled
When we checked the section on September 14, 2026, each release opened with this disclosure:
"This page contains press release content distributed by XPR Media. Members of the editorial and news staff of the USA TODAY Network were not involved in the creation of this content. The placement of this content is part of a paid service."
The footer adds that the information is provided by an independent third-party content provider and that XPR Media and the site make no warranties or representations about it.
Press release placement vs. USA Today journalism
A USA Today news story is reported, written and edited by the newsroom, which decides whether your company is worth covering. A press release placement is your own text in a section for paid content, under a label stating that newsroom staff were not involved.
Describe it accurately. "Our announcement was published in the press release section of usatoday.com" is true. "Featured by USA Today" or "as seen in USA Today" implies an editorial decision or an endorsement that did not happen, and anyone who opens the page will see the paid-service label.
How to Get on USA Today: Every Route Compared
A company can end up on usatoday.com in three real ways, and there is one kind of offer you should question.
| Route | What it is | How it is labeled | Cost | Time | Who controls the text |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earned editorial coverage | A USA Today or USA TODAY Network journalist reports on your news | A regular news story by newsroom staff | Free; not for sale | Unpredictable; it may never happen | The newsroom |
| Press release section | Your announcement, distributed through XPR Media | "Press release content distributed by XPR Media" and "part of a paid service" | From $175 as of September 2026; $250 reported by another distributor | Days after approval (a 5-day delivery window at the $175 listing) | You, within the placement guidelines |
| Branded content | Sponsored content made by USA Today's creative studio | Disclosed as sponsored | An advertising campaign budget | A campaign planning cycle | The advertiser and the studio |
| "Guest post" offers | No program for company news that we could verify | Ask the seller before paying | Varies by seller | Varies | Depends on where it actually runs |
Only the press release section can be planned and paid for. You control the text within the guidelines, but you do not get a news story, a reporter or an endorsement.
USA Today sponsored content, Blueprint and LocaliQ
USA Today sells branded content through its creative studio as part of advertising campaigns: advertising bought from the publisher, disclosed as sponsored, and planned as a campaign rather than a single announcement. USA Today's advertiser disclosure describes Blueprint as a partner of USA Today and an independent, advertising-supported comparison service, and LocaliQ is the company's digital marketing platform. Neither is a route for company news.
Is there a USA Today guest post or contributor program?
We could not verify a guest post or contributor program open to companies that want to publish their own news. USA Today does run opinion pieces, but its opinion editors choose them, and a column is not a channel for announcements. If someone offers to sell you a "USA Today guest post," ask which section it will appear in and how it will be labeled. If the answer is the press release section, you are buying a press release placement under another name.
USA Today Press Release Requirements (as of September 2026)
Every placement goes through editorial review before it publishes. The rules below are the guidelines applied to USA Today placements as of September 2026. They are consistent with what the distribution partner enforces, but they are not a policy USA Today itself publishes, and they can change.
What counts as news
The release has to announce something real: a launch, a milestone, a partnership, an award, an event or a funding round. The announcement must appear in both the headline and the body. Advertorials, meaning sales copy dressed up as a release, are refused.
Requirements checklist
| Element | Requirement | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Language and style | U.S. English, AP style | British spellings, a sales tone |
| Headline | 70 characters maximum, Title Case, one main keyword | Hype, clickbait, or a city or state name |
| Sub-headline | 120 characters maximum, sentence case | A closing period |
| Dateline | Opens the lead: CITY, State - Month Day, Year - | Putting the location in the headline instead |
| Lead | Who, what, when, where and why in one or two direct sentences, third person | "We are thrilled to announce" |
| Body | Inverted pyramid, 2–4 sentences per paragraph, quotes from named people, every claim attributed | Unsourced superlatives, anonymous quotes |
| Keyword | In the headline, sub-headline, lead and body, naturally | Repetition that reads like an ad |
| Links | 3–5 embedded links on descriptive anchor text | Bare URLs |
| Images | 1–3 images with alt text | Images with an unclear license, which get flagged |
| Boilerplate | "About [Company]," under 100 words | Marketing language |
| Media contact | Name, title, email, phone, website | A generic inbox with no named person |
| Ending | Close with ### | Promotional copy after the boilerplate |
Prohibited and flagged topics
Under the guidelines applied to USA Today placements, these subjects are refused:
- Advertorials, multi-level marketing, scams and celebrity impersonation
- Medical claims that a product prevents, treats or cures a condition, including supplements
- Sexual, adult or dating content
- Illicit drugs, cannabis, ketamine and psychedelics
- Weapons
- Gambling in any form, including betting, casinos, sportsbooks, odds, slots, poker, daily fantasy and gambling affiliate lists
- Politics and religion
- Accusations of illegal conduct against a named party
- Digital-currency promotion, such as coin offerings and prices, NFTs, play-to-earn games and metaverse property; blockchain technology or corporate partnership news can pass if it does not promote a coin
- Profanity
- Broadcast station logos or network names
Two things are flagged for extra checks: active or pending litigation, which needs a case number and confirmation from counsel, and images with unclear licenses. Distributors echo these limits; Pinion Newswire's editorial guidelines, for example, state that betting, gambling and casino-related content is strictly prohibited for USA Today. Check the list of topics accepted for distribution before you draft.
A USA Today–Ready Release Template
This skeleton applies the checklist to a fictional company, Lumenfield Software. Replace everything in square brackets. The location sits in the dateline, not the headline.
Lumenfield Launches [Product Name] Shift Scheduling App
The shift scheduling app helps warehouse teams of [NUMBER] to [NUMBER] people plan weekly schedules in one place
[CITY], [State] - [Month Day, Year] - Lumenfield Software today launched [Product Name], a shift scheduling app that lets small warehouse teams plan and share weekly schedules without spreadsheets. The app is available to businesses in [MARKET] starting [DATE].
[Second paragraph: what the app does and who it is for. Attribute every figure, for example "according to a [MONTH YEAR] survey of [NUMBER] Lumenfield customers."]
"[Quote on why the launch matters to warehouse teams, not how excited the company is]," said Jordan Reyes, chief executive officer of Lumenfield Software.
[Third paragraph: availability, pricing if relevant, and a descriptive link such as [Lumenfield shift scheduling app]. Three to five links in total, no bare URLs.]
About Lumenfield Software
Lumenfield Software makes scheduling tools for small warehouse and logistics teams. Founded in [YEAR], the company is based in [CITY], [State]. [Under 100 words, no marketing language.]
Media Contact
[Full Name], [Title]
[Email] | [Phone]
[Website]
###
Attach one to three images with alt text. Our AP style press release guide covers datelines, titles and numbers in more detail.
How Much Does a USA Today Press Release Cost?
RedPress lists its USA Today placement at $175 as of September 2026, with a 5-day delivery window, arranged through XPR Media. Every order goes through editorial review against the guidelines above. The subject matter, how the published piece will be labeled and how links are treated are confirmed with you before you pay, you approve the final text, and you receive a placement report listing the live link. The details are on the USA Today placement page if you want to compare them line by line.
For comparison, King Newswire's USA Today page reports a price of USD 250 for one release distributed through XPR Media's publisher network, subject to editorial review. Other distributors credited in the section set their own prices. Compare what the price includes: review before submission, an up-front statement of the label your release will carry, and a report with the live link.
How Long Does It Take to Publish a Press Release on USA Today?
Most of the time goes into getting the release right, not into publishing it:
- Write to the guidelines, with one to three images you have the rights to use.
- Editorial review. Expect questions about unattributed claims, long headlines or topics close to a restricted category.
- Approve the final text. Check that every number is sourced and every quote has a named person behind it.
- Publication within the provider's delivery window; the $175 listing above quotes five days.
- Archive it. Save the live link, a PDF and a screenshot the day it appears.
Links, Indexing and How Long a Release Stays Online
These are the technical facts as observed on release pages on September 14, 2026. They describe what the pages do, not what results you will get.
- Indexable pages: section and release pages carry an "index, follow" robots directive, so they can appear in search results. Whether a release is indexed, and where it ranks, is up to the search engine.
- Nofollow links: outbound links inside release bodies are marked "noopener nofollow noreferrer." Readers can click them, but they do not pass ranking credit.
- No cached copies: the server sends an x-robots-tag header of noarchive and nocache.
- Retention is the publisher's call: nothing guarantees how long a release stays online, so keep your own PDF and screenshot.
If links are the main reason you are buying, read about dofollow vs. nofollow press release links first so your expectations match what the page does.
How to Get Featured in USA Today Without Paying
Earned coverage is the only way to get featured in USA Today as news, and it starts with a reporter, not a submission form. The News tips link on USA Today's help center contact page leads to the staff directory on usatoday.com, so the practical route is to find the reporter who covers your subject and pitch that person directly. For local stories, such as a new facility or a community event, the local newsrooms of the USA TODAY Network are another route.
- Read before you pitch. Look at the reporter's recent stories and explain in one line why your news fits their coverage.
- Offer what a release cannot. Original data, a spokesperson available for an interview, or a customer willing to talk on the record.
- Keep the paid placement separate. A release in the press release section does not make your news more newsworthy; the story has to stand on its own.
Our guide on sending a press release to journalists covers timing and follow-ups, and these media pitch email examples show what a short, specific pitch looks like.
Red Flags When Buying a USA Today Placement
Ask hard questions, or walk away, if you see any of these:
- A guarantee. Publication depends on review, and no seller can guarantee coverage, pickup by other outlets, traffic or rankings.
- A "feature article" by USA Today for a fee. The disclosure on each release says newsroom staff were not involved.
- Dofollow or "link juice" promises. Links in release bodies were nofollow when we checked.
- "Permanent" placement. Retention is set by the publisher.
- Silence about the section and label. Before you pay, you should know where your release will run and what disclosure it will carry, including for anything sold as a guest post.
- Any topic accepted. Gambling, coin promotion and cure claims are refused under the guidelines applied to these placements, so a seller who accepts them owes you an explanation.
- No proof. A legitimate placement ends with a live link you can open yourself.
USA Today vs. AP News vs. Yahoo Finance Press Releases
RedPress lists single-outlet placements on all three as of September 2026. Each outlet has its own section, label and topic rules, and those are confirmed before you pay.
| Outlet | Listed price (September 2026) | Delivery window | Consider it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA Today | $175 | 5 days | Your news has general consumer or national interest |
| AP News | $140 | 5 days | You want a lower-cost placement for a corporate announcement |
| Yahoo Finance | $360 | 5 days | Your news is financial, such as a funding round or business results |
Compare the AP News press release placement side by side with this page, and read our guide on getting featured on Yahoo Finance to see how that outlet's routes differ.
FAQ — USA Today Press Release
Can I submit a press release to USA Today directly? Not in practice. The section is fed through XPR Media, which, according to its website, works only with PR, digital and SEO agencies, so businesses buy through a distribution service. Story ideas for the newsroom go to reporters listed in the staff directory.
Is a USA Today press release the same as being featured by USA Today? No. Each release page states that USA TODAY Network editorial and news staff were not involved and that the placement is part of a paid service.
How much does a USA Today press release cost? RedPress lists its USA Today placement at $175 as of September 2026, with a 5-day delivery window. King Newswire's page reports USD 250 for one release through XPR Media's network.
Is USA Today sponsored content the same as a press release? No. Sponsored content is advertising made through USA Today's creative studio; the press release section carries announcements distributed by XPR Media under its own paid-service label.
Does USA Today accept guest posts or contributors? We could not verify a guest post or contributor program open to companies publishing their own news. Opinion pieces are chosen by USA Today's editors and are not a route for announcements.
Are links in a USA Today press release dofollow? No. In September 2026, outbound links inside release bodies were marked nofollow, so they do not pass ranking credit.
Will my USA Today press release show up in Google? It can. Release pages carry an "index, follow" directive, but no one can promise indexing or rankings.
How long does a release stay on usatoday.com? That is set by the publisher and is not guaranteed. Save the live link, a PDF and a screenshot on the day it publishes.
Can I publish a crypto or gambling press release on USA Today? Not a promotional one. Gambling and digital-currency promotion are refused under the guidelines applied as of September 2026; blockchain news that promotes no coin can pass.
Summary
USA Today has one route you can buy and others you cannot.
Key takeaways:
- A USA Today press release runs in a section distributed by XPR Media and labeled as part of a paid service.
- It is not USA Today journalism and should never be described as coverage or an endorsement.
- Releases must be genuine news written in AP style to the format checklist, ending with ###.
- Gambling, coin promotion, medical cure claims, cannabis, politics and religion are among the refused topics.
- Placements are listed from $175 as of September 2026; another distributor reports $250.
- Pages can be indexed, links are nofollow, and retention is up to the publisher.
- Free coverage comes from pitching the right reporter.
Bottom line: Use the press release section for what it is, a clearly labeled and controllable way to put a real announcement on usatoday.com, and pitch reporters separately if you want to be covered as news.
Have a genuine announcement that fits the guidelines? See USA Today placement options →
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Planning a release? See how our press release distribution service works, compare press release distribution pricing, or read our review of the best press release distribution services.