We’re excited to announce the successful launch of Cox First Media publications, Dayton Daily News, Journal-News, and Springfield News-Sun onto our new native app platform. Each publication now benefits from a modern, feature-rich digital experience that delivers enhanced value for both readers and publishers.

Advanced Push Notifications with Airship

A standout feature of the new apps is the seamless integration with Airship, a market leader in customer engagement solutions. This integration empowers the titles with deep-link push notifications that drive readers directly to relevant content within the app and topic-based push notifications, allowing users to opt into the topics that matter most to them—whether that’s local news, sports, politics, or breaking alerts.

This level of personalisation ensures users receive timely, relevant content while helping publishers boost engagement, retention, and open rates. It’s a major leap forward in how local journalism connects with its audience in real-time.

A Freemium Model with Metered Access

The apps also introduce a 10-article limit for unsubscribed users, giving readers the ability to sample premium content before committing to a subscription. This strategic model balances accessibility and monetisation, making it easier to convert casual browsers into paying subscribers.

Modern Features Readers Expect

The upgraded apps offer a clean, user-friendly interface while bringing together the best of both live and print-style journalism:

– Live news feeds for up-to-the-minute updates

– eEditions, giving readers a digital replica of the printed paper

– Interactive puzzles, enhancing daily engagement with leisure content

– Dark Mode

– Videos, built from a feed delivered from Arc XP

Streamlined Subscriptions

The iOS apps support external link subscriptions, which enables publishers to route users to an external payment portal outside of the app. This approach is in line with Apple’s updated guidelines that allow reader apps to include external links for account creation and management.

This capability ensures that subscription revenue flows more directly to the publisher while maintaining compliance with iOS platform rules.

We implemented receipt postback on the Android apps to ensure real-time subscription validation and seamless entitlement syncing across devices and sessions.

Redefining News Delivery

This upgrade reflects our ongoing mission to empower publishers with tools that blend innovation, monetisation, and reader-first experiences. By combining personalisation, premium content access, and smarter subscription pathways, Cox First Media is well-positioned to drive digital growth and editorial impact.

For more information about how PageSuite can modernise your publishing platform, get in touch with our team.