ProPublica vs The Messenger All Access
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ProPublica
Access in-depth investigative journalism covering critical topics like government, healthcare, and criminal justice. Enjoy a streamlined reading experience with offline support and notifications for major stories.
- Latest investigative journalism
- Reporting on government and policy
- Coverage of healthcare and criminal justice
- Environmental reporting
- Streamlined reading experience
- Offline support
- Story notifications
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• Get the latest independent investigative journalism from ProPublica. • Dig deep into reporting about government and policy, health care, criminal justice, the environment and more. • Get a streamlined reading experience, with smart offline support and notifications for our biggest stories.
The Messenger All Access
Access the full print edition of a local newspaper on your iPhone or iPad. Read headlines, stories, and view photos, with options to listen to articles and read offline. Stay informed about local and national news, sports, and weather.
- Full print edition replica
- Story viewer with photos
- Read and listen to stories
- Offline reading capability
- Searchable news content
- Weather updates
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Stay on top of news from Fort Dodge and surrounding areas by receiving the full print version of the Messenger on your iPhone or iPad. Every page of every edition is delivered to your device. The Messenger is the best source for local and national news, sports, weather and features in Fort Dodge and North-Central Iowa. Download the app to view the printed pages of the newspaper or read headlines and stories along with related photos in a built-in story viewer. Features: - Intuitive navigation. - View headlines, stories, related photos. - Read and listen to stories. - Weather provided by Weather Bug. - Download and sync content to device via Wi-Fi or cellular network so you can read offline. - Stories Tab displays the top news stories by section so you can read the full text or listen to it being read by a virtual newscaster. - Email a story. - Flip through, read and look at pictures within the actual newspaper pages of the printed publication. - Publications Tab lets you read the previous edition of your downloaded publication or download the most recent edition. - Search Tab lets you search for keywords within a headline or text of the stories. The Messenger provides the latest local and national news and sports to residents of Fort Dodge and Webster, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Calhoun, Palo Alto, Kossuth, Greene, Hamilton and Wright counties in North-Central Iowa.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: ProPublica at 75% against The Messenger All Access's 0%. ProPublica also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (105 vs 1). The Messenger All Access's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ProPublica holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ProPublica has 105 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of ProPublica's written reviews are positive against 0% of The Messenger All Access's.
ProPublica ships an update every 4 months, The Messenger All Access every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ProPublica | The Messenger All Access |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (105 ratings) — better | 2.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 74.8% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 105 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #168 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ProPublica | Presteligence |
Customer experience
ProPublica
The Messenger All Access
Bugs and requests
ProPublica
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes on launch
- App won't open or load content
- Stories don't appear when clicked
- MuckReads section fails to load
- Data filter dropdowns non-functional
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- Articles don't fit screen (horizontal scrolling required)
- Images not resizing properly
- App freezes phone
- Device registration issues
- Content never populates
Requested features
9 requests- Dark mode for nighttime reading
- Bookmark/save articles function
- Home screen widget
- Adjustable font size
- Persistent font size settings
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- iOS 18 theme adherence
- Read-later app integration (Instapaper, Pocket)
- Improved article navigation
- Better browsing of older stories
The Messenger All Access
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ProPublica
No in-app purchases
The Messenger All Access
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ProPublica free?
Is The Messenger All Access free?
Which has better reviews, ProPublica or The Messenger All Access?
Do ProPublica or The Messenger All Access have ads?
Which is updated more often, ProPublica or The Messenger All Access?
Other comparisons
