The app represents a big bet on technology by parent company Gannett which, like other newspaper chains, is on borrowed time as it tries to solve the digital dilemma before its traditional print ad earnings collapse once and for all.

The company’s gamble comes in the form of a bespoke content management system that lets editors tailor content specifically for a mobile audience rather than simply slinging content from the USA Today website. In practice, this means shorter and snappier headlines and choosing hard news stories in the morning and then more visual, feature-like fare for later in the day. The move coincides with a mass reader migration to smartphones and tablet devices.

“We’re starting to think of these as products that should be actively programmed rather than taking things that were produced for another medium,” said Gannett’s Chief Digital Officer, David Payne. He added the process gives USA Today editors more levers to pull in serving mobile content and interjects a new human element to the curation process.

As for the app itself, it’s attractive but hardly a knockout compared to the mobile sites of digital natives like The Verge or the Atlantic’s Quartz:

And then there is the revenue question.

The market for online display ads is suffering from a supply glut and collapsing prices, meaning publishers like USA Today must find other revenue sources and find them soon. Payne says video ads, which pay much better, will be a cornerstone of the site’s approach to expanding its ad offerings. Specifically, the plan is to intersperse more videos among USA Today‘s text and photo content — a plan that will be easier given Gannett’s multiple broadcast properties.

Finally, Gannett’s 80 or so regional newspapers will be plugged into the new content management system, meaning it will be easier to pluck and share content from across the USA Today and other sites. The regional papers are also part of a major paywall experiment in which Gannett is testing which paywall schemes work best in various places. These opportunities for scale and curation may let Gannett unlock other business opportunities.

Overall, Gannett came into the digital era with a weak hand. But sound management (the company is posting respectable numbers) and bold bets on tech like this one could help the USA Today enjoy a second act in coming years.

Gannett has been in the process of rebranding itself as a more digital-centric company and not just a traditional newspaper publisher and broadcaster. The announcement also comes two days after Gannett tapped former NBC Universal (NSDQ: CMCSA) executive Maryam Banikarim as its first CMO.

Given the rise of online video advertising, Payne appears to be a very sensible hire. He helped start video ad tech firm ShortTail Media in 2008 and has served as the company’s president and CEO. Before that, he was SVP/GM of CNN.com, which produced and distributed all of CNN’s digital services, including CNN.com, CNN Mobile, CNN.com Live, and CNN Video on Demand.

At the same time Payne moves over to Gannett, he has also sold Shorttail to AdGent. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Apart from the two new hires this week, Pointroll CEO Jason Tafler also just finished his last day at the Gannett rich media subsidiary before taking on the chief digital officer role at Canada’s Rogers Media. Tafler, who succeeded Saridakis as the head of Pointroll three years ago, was replaced by SVP of sales Robert Gatto.

The recent additions — from the new logo on to the new hires — reflects both the improvement in Gannett’s financial situation and the aggressive approach CEO Craig Dubow has taken toward shifting the company’s focus to digital, especially in the mobile and local areas. Like most major media companies, the print side of the business continues to struggle against industrywide declines, while digital has been a particular growth driver, even during the downturn.

Over the past year, Gannett has pursued a number of digital efforts, including experimenting of paywalls at three of its community newspapers, debated whether to charge for its popular USA Today iPad app (early plans were put on indefinite hold as ad inventory on the device continued to sell out, surpassing initial expectations), and it has worked on setting up local integrated marketing units across the country that leverage its expansive footprint, while carving out a separate business from the traditional newspaper/broadcast ad sales.

Sources had previously told paidContent that Gannett had been looking both internally and externally to find a successor for Saridakis, who left the company to become GSI Commerce’s (Nasdaq: GSIC) Marketing Services unit last April.