R.I.P. unlimited free online news. Possibly for real this time (at least from newspapers). The nation’s largest newspaper chain is said to be planning a  roll out of its paid model by the end of this year.

Forbes is reporting Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper chain, which controls more than 80 newspapers around the country from small community papers to USA Today, apparently has plans to switch over its community papers to a tiered pay model this year. (One notable exception: USA Today.) The switch to a tiered paywall — where the first few stories per month are free — comes amid a renewed emphasis on digital-first news gathering, which has included handing out thousands of iPhones and iPads to news staffers at various properties.

From Forbes:

Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, is planning to switch over all of its 80 community newspapers to a paid model by the end of the year, it announced during an investor day held in Manhattan Wednesday.

“We will begin to restrict some access to non-subscribers,” said Bob Dickey, president of community publishing. The model is similar to the metered system adopted by The New York Times a year ago, in which online readers are able to view a limited number of pages for free each month. That quota will be between five and 15 articles, depending on the paper, said Dickey. Six Gannett papers already have a digital pay regimen in place.

This news is hardly unexpected. Not only are other major newspapers and outlets heading in this direction, but Gannett itself has been toying with this model at some of its properties for some time and started actively testing this tiered model this month.

Jim Romenesko posted the paywall FAQ customers of those test sites received in January. According to that, subscribers continue to have unfettered access to all content on all platforms.

Create a clear, strategic approach to the way you use Facebook to market your business in our new Facebook Marketing Boot Camp. The online conference and workshop starts April 24. Learn more.

Storify, the popular drag-and-drop storytelling tool, is coming to an iPad near you in the form of a brand new, free app, the company announced today. The iPad application makes Storify available on mobile devices for the first time.

“Users have asked for it for a long time,” Jeff Elder, Storify’s marketing director, told me via email. “This is a storytelling app, letting you create content on the iPad as never before.”

Just like the Storify website, the app lets users curate content from Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites. There are two main differences: Users can tweet directly from the app and it is also touch-enabled, allowing content to be moved with just the touch of a finger.

“Whether you’re at a conference or at home, you can mix social streams to create simple, beautiful stories to share and remember the moments in life that matter,” Xavier Damman, Storify co-founder and CEO, said in a press release. “You now have storytelling at your fingertips.” Read more

In case you haven’t heard, Storify is set to reveal some really big news tonight at midnight PST.

We have a big announcement to make at midnight PST. Stay tuned. #feb22 #storify

— Storify (@Storify) February 21, 2012

What’s your prediction? Will the announcement be an acquisition? Or maybe a big new hire?

NBC News’ Craig Kanalley is curating a lot of the speculation in this Storify. Want to be a part of the story? Tweet your guess with the hashtag #Feb22.

Due to technical difficulties, the Storify won’t embed in WordPress.

Kate Bolick became something of a household name when The Atlantic published her nine-page, 12,000-plus-word cover story on the economics of dating, “All The Single Ladies,” last November.

Not only did the piece score her a book and TV deal, but she said the feedback from readers has been overwhelmingly positive — and, in some cases, life-changing.

“One of my favorite responses was from a man in his sixties with a 35-year-old daughter, saying that she’s lovely, intelligent, she’s the apple of his eye, and she is not married and has no intention of getting married — a point of concern for him and his wife,” Bolick told mediabistro.com for its “Hey, How’d You Do That?” series. “But, after reading the article, they don’t feel concerned anymore… It was very sweet that he had just come in to this new way of thinking towards his daughter and was then applying it to me.”

Read the full interview to get Bolick’s tips for successful freelancing and share your comments below.  What’s the best piece of feedback you ever received for an article?

“Four Questions With …” is an occasional series of interviews with different social media and community editors in the news industry.

So, what is it like to be a social media or community editor? What are the job responsibilities and how does one end up landing such a gig? The goal of “Four Questions With …” is to answer some of these questions and to give insight into what is a new and constantly evolving field.

This month, we chatted with Mark Johnson, The Economist’s community editor based in its London office. He joined the well-respected news magazine in June 2010 after working in publishing, developing digital strategy at HarperCollins in London.

Here are Johnson’s thoughts on community, social media and journalism. Read more