Who Is the Founder of USA Today?

USA Today, the nationally circulated newspaper, is very popular and competes with the very well known Wall Street Journal for readers. USA Today is unique in that its format differs a bit from most national and local newspapers. The design of the paper, along with its easy to read format, make it a popular choice amongst those looking for a daily newspaper for reading.

The individual who is the founder of USA Today is none other than Al Neuharth. Neuharth was a World War II veteran who later went to the University of South Dakota to study journalism where he worked on the college newspaper.

After graduating from the University of South Dakota Neuharth would form a weekly newspaper called SoDak Sports which focused on the sports scene in South Dakota. He founded the paper with fellow alumnus Bill Porter.

Although the weekly newspaper was successful, it went bankrupt in a year. Neuharth then moved on to the Miami Herald, the Detroit Free Press and eventually to the Democrat and Chronicle which was run by the company Gannett.

Eventually Neuharth would run Gannett Florida and create the newspaper that would later become Florida Today. Al Neuharth was a very successful entity at Gannett and, while he worked there, was able to make Gannett the leading newspaper company in the United States.

While working at Gannett, Al Neuharth also begin working with a research company, Louis, Harris and Associates, with plans to begin his own national newspaper. In a very strategic move, Gannett then purchased the research firm Louis, Harris and Associates. Thus, when Neuharth created USA Today in 1982, it was owned by Gannett and not exclusively by Neuharth. Neuharth would work for Gannett until he retired in 1989.

Format of USA Today

Al Neuharth introduced USA Today with a unique design format and layout. Color is one of the main features of this particular newspaper. Unlike many of the other popular national papers, which are black and white, USA Today features multiple colors with in an integral part of its look.

There are five main colors - blue, green, red, purple and orange - which are each representative of a specific section of the newspaper. There are also four main sections of the paper which include:

• News (the front page)
• Money
• Sports
• Life

There is also a bonus section which is specifically for important events such as holidays or special sporting events.

USA Today is also known for its very unique back page which focuses on weather. The weather page lists temperatures and weather conditions for areas all over the country.

Another unique feature about the format of USA Today is that it utilizes the Gulliver font, and it is considered to be a “work day” paper as it does not publish papers for Saturday and Sunday.

Interesting Facts About USA Today

The national newspaper USA Today is not only known for its innovative style but also for a number of different events that have made the paper very popular. Throughout the years, USA Today broke numerous stories which increased its popularity amongst readers.

One such story involved the revelation that the tennis player Arthur Ashe was infected with HIV as a result of blood transfusions related to past heart surgeries. Ashe and his wife wanted to keep the diagnosis quiet. However, when USA Today discovered that Ashe was HIV positive, they decided that they would publish a story about it. Not wanting the world to find out about his illness through a newspaper, Arthur Ashe was forced to reveal publicly that he had HIV.

Other interesting news stories would include the revelation that the National Security Agency was working with many of the major telecommunications companies to collect private information on its user to form a database. Such controversial stories proved to be very advantageous for increasing readership for USA Today.