Ongo Digital Social News Site Debuts at a Price

Image by Tokoni / Alex Kazim via CrunchBaseStaked to $12 million in start-up money from Gannett Co., The Washington Post and The New York Times, Cupertino, Calif.-based Ongo, Inc., has debuted its personal digital news service with a $6.99 a month subscription rate, according to an article on PaidContent.org. and a company press release.

Founded by former eBay and PayPal executive Alex Kazim, Ongo's social news site offers users content aggregated from USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, The Financial Times, Slate and the Associated Press. Behind Ongo's paywall are features including a clippings function that allows users to create a personal archive, a search function, and Ongo Home, a single front page format displaying what editors consider the day's principal news stories and other stories of interest.

Ongo plans to offer a mobile phone app in the future. The site is www.ongo.com.  The company is offering a one-day, free access pass that won't require a credit card. Subscribers who sign-up will receive a one-month trial at no charge.