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{{Short description|American national daily newspaper}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name                   = USA Today
| image                  = USA-Today-2-February-2017.jpeg
| logo                   = USA Today (2020-01-29).svg
| caption                = Front page (February 2, 2017)
| type                   = [[Daily newspaper]]
| format                 = [[Broadsheet]]
| founder                = [[Al Neuharth]]
| chief_editor           = Caren Bohan<ref name="Caren Bohan USA TODAY Staff Page">{{cite web | url=https://www.usatoday.com/staff/2648184001/caren-bohan/ | title=Caren Bohan USA TODAY Staff Page | website=USA Today }}</ref>
| managing_editor        =
| news_editor            = 
| managing_editor_design = 
| opinion_editor         = 
| sports_editor          = 
| photo_editor           = 
| staff_writers          = 
| custom_label           = Chief Content Officer
| custom_data            = Kristin Roberts<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gannett.com/pr/kristin-roberts-joins-gannett-as-chief-content-officer/ | title=Kristin Roberts Joins Gannett as Chief Content Officer }}</ref>
| founded                = {{start date and age|1982|9|15}}
| language               = English
| ceased_publication     = 
| headquarters           = 1675 Broadway, 23rd Floor<br />
[[New York, NY]] 10019
| sister_newspapers      = [[Newsquest]]
| ISSN                   = 0734-7456
| oclc                   = 8799626
| director_interactive   = 
| owner                  = [[USA Today Co.]]
| general_manager        = 
| publishing_city        = 
| publishing_country     = United States
| circulation            = 113,228 daily<br />142,212 digital-only
| circulation_date       = 2023
| circulation_ref        = <ref name="Gannett's 10-K annual filing">{{cite web |url=https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001579684/488a13b0-5849-4064-a7ed-cca0d0ee1c05.pdf |title=Form 10-K|author=Gannett|website= United States Securities and Exchange Commission |access-date=February 29, 2024}}</ref>
| readership             = 
| website                = {{URL|usatoday.com}} 
}}

'''''USA Today''''' (often stylized in [[all caps]]<!-- While USA Today enjoys its ALLCAPS stylization, WikiPedia is not bound by this convention. Accordingly,  we present it as "USA Today" --><ref name="About USA Today">{{cite web |title=About USA Today (We are at the center of it all) |url=https://marketing.usatoday.com/about |website=USA Today |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-date=April 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428202408/https://marketing.usatoday.com/about |url-status=dead }}</ref>) is an American daily [[middle-market newspaper]] and [[news broadcasting]] company. Founded by [[Al Neuharth]] in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from [[USA Today Co.]]'s corporate headquarters in New York City.<ref name="Gannett Contact Us Page">{{cite web | url=https://www.gannett.com/contact/ | title=Gannett Contact Us Page }}</ref> Its newspaper is printed at 37 sites across the United States and at five additional sites internationally. The paper's dynamic design influenced the style of local, regional, and national newspapers worldwide through its use of concise reports, colorized images, [[Infographic|informational graphics]], and inclusion of [[popular culture]] stories, among other distinct features.<ref>{{cite news |title=Press Room: Press Kit |url=https://marketing.usatoday.com/about |newspaper=USA Today |publisher=[[Gannett]] |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-date=April 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428202408/https://marketing.usatoday.com/about |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="garcia-usatoday1">{{cite web |last=García |first=Mario R. |title=USA Today turns 30: Part 1 |url=http://www.garciamedia.com/blog/usa_today_turns_30-part_1-looking_into_the_attic_for_those_early_sketches |website=García Media |date=September 9, 2012 |access-date=January 10, 2022}}</ref>

As of 2023, ''USA Today'' has the [[List of newspapers in the United States|fifth largest]] [[print circulation]] in the United States, with 132,640 print subscribers. It has two million digital subscribers, the fourth-largest online circulation of any U.S. newspaper.

''USA Today'' is distributed in all 50 states, [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Puerto Rico]], and an international edition is distributed in Asia, Canada, Europe, and the [[List of islands in the Pacific Ocean|Pacific islands]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 20, 2020 |title=Today's Trademark – USA Today|url=https://lexprotector.com/blog/todays-trademark-usa-today/ |access-date=September 29, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==
===20th century===
''USA Today'' was first conceived on February 29, 1980, when a company task force known as "Project NN" met with the then-chairman of [[Gannett]], [[Al Neuharth]], in [[Cocoa Beach, Florida]]. Early regional prototypes of ''USA Today'' included ''East Bay Today'', an [[Oakland, California]]-based publication published in the late 1970s to serve as the morning edition of the ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'', an afternoon newspaper that Gannett owned at the time.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-09-29-9103140104-story.html | title=Paper Pursues Life After Debt | first=James | last=Warren | work=[[Chicago Tribune]] | date=September 29, 1991| url-access=subscription}}</ref> On June 11, 1981, Gannett printed the first prototypes of the proposed publication. The two proposed design layouts were mailed to newsmakers and prominent leaders in journalism for review and feedback.<ref name="garcia-usatoday1"/><ref name=timeline>{{cite news | title=USA Today Media Kit :: Press Room :: Press Kit :: Timeline | url=https://static.usatoday.com/about/timeline/ | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=Gannett}}</ref> Gannett's board of directors approved the launch of the national newspaper, titled ''USA Today'', on December 5, 1981. At launch, Neuharth was appointed president and publisher of the newspaper, adding those responsibilities to his existing position as Gannett's [[chief executive officer]].<ref name=timeline/><ref name="marking30">{{cite web|title=USA Today Is Turning 30, in Danger of 'Marking 30'|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/columns/usa-today-is-turning-30-in-danger-of-marking-30/|author=John K. Hartman|website=[[Editor and Publisher]]|date=September 12, 2012|access-date=October 24, 2016|archive-date=October 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025050132/http://www.editorandpublisher.com/columns/usa-today-is-turning-30-in-danger-of-marking-30/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Gannett announced the launch of the paper on April 20, 1982. ''USA Today'' began publishing on September 14, 1982, initially in the [[Baltimore]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] metropolitan areas,<ref>{{cite web|date=September 16, 2020|title=History's Moments in Media: 38 Years of USA Today: What's Next for History's Most Successful National Newspaper?|url=https://www.mediavillage.com/article/historys-moments-in-media-38-years-of-usa-today-whats-next-for-historys-most-successful-national-newspaper/print/|access-date=September 10, 2021|website=www.mediavillage.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/09/14/Gannett-launches-USA-Today/2946400824000|title=Gannett Launches USA Today|agency=[[United Press International|UPI]]|date=September 14, 1982|access-date=March 19, 2024}}</ref> for a newsstand price of 25¢ (equivalent to {{Inflation|US|25|1982|fmt=c}}¢ in {{Inflation-year|US}}). After selling out the first issue, Gannett gradually expanded the national distribution of the paper, reaching an estimated circulation of 362,879 copies by the end of 1982, double the amount of sales that Gannett projected.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

[[File:USA Today Logo.svg|upright=0.8|thumb|left|Original logo, used from 1982 to 2012]]
The design uniquely incorporated color graphics and photographs. Initially, only its front news section pages were rendered in four-color, while the remaining pages were printed in a [[spot color]] format. The paper's overall style and elevated use of graphics—developed by Neuharth, in collaboration with staff graphics designers George Rorick, Sam Ward, Suzy Parker, John Sherlock and Web Brya—were derided by critics, who referred to it as a "[[McWord|McPaper]]" or "television you can wrap fish in", because it opted to incorporate concise nuggets of information more akin to the style of [[television news]], rather than in-depth stories like traditional newspapers, which many in the newspaper industry considered to be a [[dumbing down]] of content.<ref name=timeline/><ref name="marking30"/><ref name="garcia-usatoday2">{{cite web|title=USA Today turns 30-Part 2 – A newspaper that influenced all of us|url=http://www.garciamedia.com/blog/usa_today_turns_30-part_2---a_newspaper_that_influenced_all_of_us|author=Mario R. García|website=García Media|date=September 10, 2012}}</ref> Although ''USA Today'' had been profitable for just ten years as of 1997, it changed the appearance and feel of newspapers around the world.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Psvlik|first1=John|last2=Mclntosh|first2=Shawn|title=Converging Media|year=2016|publisher=Oxford|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-027151-0|edition=fifth}}</ref>

Gannett invested in an expensive network of printing factories and distribution during the rollout of ''USA Today'', meaning that the paper could be printed and distributed quickly.  One of the results of this was ''USA Today'' having the luxury of a later time cutoff for journalists to submit stories, such that the paper was able to include sports scores from games that finished late in the next morning's paper.  The sports section of ''USA Today'', with its complete set of results, was well-regarded and generally seen as one of the main selling points of the paper.<ref name="farhi2024">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/07/09/usa-today-history-terence-samuel/ |title=USA Today transformed the media world for good. What's its legacy now? 
|first= Paul |last=Farhi |date=July 9, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=July 9, 2024}}</ref>

On July 2, 1984, the newspaper switched from predominantly black-and-white to full-color photography and graphics in all four sections. The following week, on July 10, ''USA Today'' launched an international edition intended for U.S. readers abroad, followed four months later on October 8 with the rollout of the first transmission via satellite of its international version to [[Singapore]]. On April 8, 1985, the paper published its first special bonus section, a 12-page section called "Baseball '85", which previewed the [[1985 Major League Baseball season]].<ref name=timeline/>

By the fourth quarter of 1985, ''USA Today'' had become the second-largest newspaper in the United States, reaching a daily circulation of 1.4&nbsp;million copies. Total daily readership of the paper by 1987 (according to Simmons Market Research Bureau statistics) had reached 5.5&nbsp;million, the largest of any daily newspaper in the U.S. On May 6, 1986, ''USA Today'' began production of its international edition in [[Switzerland]]. ''USA Today'' operated at a loss for most of its first four years of operation, accumulating a total deficit of $233&nbsp;million after taxes. According to figures released by Gannett in July 1987, the newspaper began turning its first profit in May 1987, six months ahead of Gannett's corporate revenue projections.<ref name=timeline/>

On January 29, 1988, ''USA Today'' published the largest edition in its history, a 78-page weekend edition featuring a section previewing [[Super Bowl XXII]]; the edition included 44.38 pages of advertising and sold 2,114,055 copies, setting a single-day record for an American newspaper (and surpassed seven months later on September 2, when its [[Labor Day]] weekend edition sold 2,257,734 copies). On April 15, ''USA Today'' launched a third international printing site, based in [[Hong Kong]]. The international edition set circulation and advertising records during August 1988, with coverage of the [[1988 Summer Olympics]], selling more than 60,000 copies and 100 pages of advertising.<ref name=timeline/>

By July 1991, Simmons Market Research Bureau estimated that ''USA Today'' had a total daily readership of nearly 6.6&nbsp;million, an all-time high and the largest readership of any daily newspaper in the United States. On September 1, 1991, ''USA Today'' launched a fourth print site for its international edition in London for the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[British Isles]].<ref name=timeline/> The international edition's schedule was changed as of April 1, 1994, to Monday through Friday, rather than from Tuesday through Saturday, in order to accommodate business travelers; on February 1, 1995, ''USA Today'' opened its first editorial bureau outside the United States at its Hong Kong publishing facility; additional editorial bureaus were launched in London and [[Moscow]] in 1996.<ref name=timeline/>

On April 17, 1995, ''USA Today'' launched its website to provide real-time news coverage; in June 2002, the site expanded to include a section providing travel information and booking tools. On August 28, 1995, a fifth international publishing site was launched in [[Frankfurt, Germany]], to print and distribute the international edition throughout most of Europe.<ref name=timeline/>

On October 4, 1999, ''USA Today'' began running advertisements on its front page for the first time.<ref name=timeline/> In 2017, some pages of USA Today's website features [[Auto-Play]] functionality for video or audio-aided stories.

===21st century===
On February 8, 2000, Gannett launched ''USA Today Live'', a broadcast and Internet initiative designed to provide coverage from the newspaper to broadcast television stations nationwide for use in their local newscasts and their websites; the venture also provided integration with the ''USA Today'' website, which transitioned from a text-based format to feature audio and video clips of news content.<ref name=timeline/>

The paper launched a sixth printing site for its international edition on May 15, 2000, in [[Milan]], Italy, followed on July 10 by the launch of an international printing facility in [[Charleroi, Belgium]].<ref name=timeline/>

In 2001, two interactive units were launched: on June 19, ''USA Today'' and Gannett Newspapers launched the USA Today Careers Network (now Careers.com), a website featuring localized employment listings, then on July 18, the USA Today News Center was launched as an interactive television news service developed through a joint venture with the On Command Corporation that was distributed to hotels around the United States. On September 12 of that year, the newspaper set an all-time single day circulation record, selling 3,638,600 copies for its edition covering the [[September 11 attacks]]. That November, ''USA Today'' migrated its operations from Gannett's previous corporate headquarters in [[Arlington, Virginia]], to the company's next headquarters in nearby [[McLean, Virginia|McLean]].<ref name=timeline/> The company moved its headquarters to [[New York, NY]] in 2024.<ref name="Gannett Contact Us Page"/>
In 2004, [[Jack Kelley (journalist)|Jack Kelley]], a senior foreign correspondent for USA Today, was found to have fabricated foreign news reports over the past decade. Kelley resigned.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/20/us/usa-today-finds-top-writer-lied.html|title= USA Today Finds Top Writer Lied |work=The New York Times|date=March 4, 2004|first=Jacques|last=Steinberg}}</ref>

On December 12, 2005, Gannett announced that it would combine the separate newsroom operations of the online and print entities of ''USA Today'', with USAToday.com's vice president and editor-in-chief Kinsey Wilson promoted to co-executive editor, alongside existing executive editor John Hillkirk.<ref name=timeline/>

In December 2010, ''USA Today'' launched the USA Today [[API]] for sharing data with partners of all types.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hamlin |first=Ethan |title=Introducing the Articles API |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/labs/post/2010/12/introducing-the-articles-api/1 |work=USA Today |date=December 8, 2010 |access-date=January 10, 2022}}</ref>

===Newsroom restructuring and 2011 graphical tweaks===
On August 27, 2010, ''USA Today'' announced that it would undergo a reorganization of its newsroom, announcing the layoffs of 130 staffers. It also announced that the paper would shift its focus away from print and place more emphasis on its digital platforms (including USAToday.com and its related [[mobile app]]lications) and launch of a new publication called ''USA Today Sports''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=AP |date=2010-08-27 |title=USA Today Making 'Radical' Overhaul, Cutting 130 |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2010/08/27/usa-today-making-radical-overhaul-cutting-130.html |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>

On January 24, 2011, to reverse a revenue slide, the paper introduced a tweaked format that modified the appearance of its front section pages, which included a larger logo at the top of each page; coloring tweaks to section front pages; a new [[sans-serif]] font, called Prelo, for certain headlines of main stories (replacing the Gulliver typeface that had been implemented for story headers in April 2000); an updated "Newsline" feature featuring larger, "newsier" headline entry points; and the increasing and decreasing of [[Nameplate (publishing)|mastheads]] and white space to present a cleaner style.<ref>{{cite news |last=Romenesko |first=Jim |title=USA Today tweaks include larger Page One logo | url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2011/usa-today-tweaks-include-larger-page-one-logo/ |publisher=[[Poynter Institute]] |date=January 24, 2011}}</ref>

===2012 redesign===
[[File:Miguel Vazquez from USA Today shows off their beautiful Metro App (6857362418).jpg|thumb|Miguel Vazquez from ''USA Today'' shows off the publication's Metro App, 2012.]]
On September 14, 2012, ''USA Today'' underwent the first major redesign in its history, in commemoration for the 30th anniversary of the paper's first edition.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wolff Olins creates new USA Today branding | url=https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/may-2012/wolff-olins-creates-new-usa-today-branding/ | first=Emily | last=Gosling | newspaper=DesignWeek | date=September 17, 2012}}</ref> Developed in conjunction with brand design firm [[Wolff Olins]], the print edition of ''USA Today'' added a page covering technology stories, expanded travel coverage within the Life section, and increased the number of color pages included in each edition, while retaining longtime elements.<ref name="Hagey">{{cite news|title=USA Today Redesigns Paper, Website | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444709004577649682788312016| first=Keach | last=Hagey | newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=September 13, 2012 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> The "globe" logo used since the paper's inception was replaced with a new logo featuring a large circle rendered in colors corresponding to each of the sections, serving as an infographic that changes with news stories, containing images representing that day's top stories.<ref name="Hagey"/><ref name="garcia-usatoday5">{{cite web|title=USA Today turns 30-Part 5-Its First Major Visual Redesign |url=http://www.garciamedia.com/blog/usa_today_turns_30-part_5-its_a_new_look_for_usa_today--its_first_major_vis | first=Mario R. | last=García | website=García Media | date=September 14, 2012}}</ref>

The paper's website was also extensively overhauled using a new, in-house [[content management system]] known as Presto and a design created by Fantasy Interactive, that incorporates flipboard-style navigation to switch between individual stories (which obscure most of the main and section pages), clickable video advertising and a [[responsive design]] layout. The site was designed and developed to be more interactive, faster, provide "high impact" advertising units (known as Gravity), and provide the ability for Gannett to syndicate ''USA Today'' content to the websites of its local properties, and vice versa. To accomplish this goal, [[Gannett Digital]] migrated its newspaper and television station websites to the Presto platform. Developers built a separate platform to provide optimizations for [[mobile device|mobile]] and [[touchscreen]] devices. The Gravity ad won Digiday's Best Publishing Innovation in Advertising in 2016, thanks to an 80% full-watch user engagement rate on desktop, and 96% on mobile.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Atlantic is Publisher of the Year at the Digiday Publishing Awards |url=https://digiday.com/announcement/atlantic-publisher-year-digiday-publishing-awards/ |access-date=June 21, 2021 |publisher=Digiday |date=March 24, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rudy |first1=Melissa |title=Gannett Ramps Up Its Viewability Data as New 'Gravity' Ad Units Soar |url=https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/gannett-teams-moat-viewability-data-160048/ |access-date=June 21, 2021 |publisher=Adweek |date=September 11, 2014}}</ref>

Following the relaunch, the editorial team behind ''USA Today'' Investigations ramped up its "longread" article plans, following the success of the series ''Ghost Factories''. With differing platform requirements, ''USA Today's'' mobile website did not offer any specialized support for these multi-chapter stories. Nearing the end of 2012, more than one-third of ''USA Today''{{'s}} readership was browsing only using their mobile phones, and the majority of these users were accessing the mobile website (as opposed to the iOS and Android applications) with the newer, less-obtrusive advertising strategy. Gannet Digital designed, developed, and released the longread mobile experience to coincide with the launch of [[Brad Heath]]'s series ''Locked Up'', which won the [[Investigative Reporters and Editors]] Tom Renner Award in October 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=IRE Past Award Winners |url=https://www.ire.org/awards/past-award-winners/ |website=Investigative Reporters and Editors |access-date=June 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=USA Today Receives Top IRE Award, Three Gannett Sites Honored as Finalists |url=https://www.tegna.com/usa-today-receives-top-ire-award-three-gannett-sites-honored-as-finalists/ |access-date=June 21, 2021 |agency=Tegna |date=April 1, 2021}}</ref>

Gannett Digital's focus on its mobile content experience paid off in 2012 with multiple awards; including the Eppy for Best Mobile Application, the Mobile Excellence award for Best User Experience, the MOBI award for Editorial Content, and Mobile Publisher of the Year.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kats|first=Rima|title=Starbucks is 2012 Mobile Marketer of the Year|publisher=Marketing Dive|url=https://www.marketingdive.com/ex/mobilemarketer/cms/resources/mobilegends-awards/14499.html|access-date=June 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2012 Eppy Award Winners |url=https://www.eppyawards.com/stories/2012-eppy-award-winners,19 |website=Eppy Awards |date=May 29, 2012 |access-date=June 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2012 Mobile Excellence Awards |url=https://mediaxawards.com/2012-mobile-excellence-awards/ |website=MediaX Awards |access-date=June 21, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202237/https://mediaxawards.com/2012-mobile-excellence-awards/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The ''USA Today'' site design was launched on desktop, mobile and TV throughout 2013 and 2014, although archive content accessible through [[search engines]] remains available through the pre-relaunch design.<ref name="poynter-gannettpresto">{{cite news| title=Case Study: Gannett's monumental task – A content management system for all |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2014/case-study-gannetts-monumental-task-a-content-management-system-for-all/ | publisher=[[Poynter Institute]] | date=July 7, 2014}}</ref><ref name="garcia-usatoday6">{{cite web | title=It's a new website rethink for USA Today, too | url=http://www.garciamedia.com/blog/its_a_new_website_rethink_for_usa_today_too/ | first=Mario R. | last=García | website=García Media | date=September 17, 2012}}</ref>

===Mid-2010s expansion and restructuring===
On October 6, 2013, Gannett test launched a condensed daily edition of ''USA Today'' (part of what was internally known within Gannett as the "Butterfly" initiative) for distribution as an insert in four of its newspapers – ''[[The Indianapolis Star]]'', the ''[[Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]]'', the [[Fort Myers, Florida|Fort Myers]]-based ''[[The News-Press]]'' and the [[Appleton, Wisconsin]]-based ''[[The Post-Crescent]]''. The launch of the syndicated insert caused ''USA Today'' to restructure its operations to allow seven-day-a-week production to accommodate the packaging of its national and international news content and enterprise stories (comprising about 10 pages for the weekday and Saturday editions, and up to 22 pages for the Sunday edition) into the pilot insert. Gannett later announced on December 11, that it would formally launch the condensed daily edition of ''USA Today'' in 31 additional local newspapers nationwide through April 2014 (with the [[Palm Springs, California]]-based ''[[The Desert Sun]]'' and the [[Lafayette, Louisiana]]-based ''Advertiser'' being the first newspapers outside of the pilot program participants to add the supplement on December 15), citing "positive feedback" to the feature from readers and advertisers of the initial four papers. Gannett was given permission from the [[Alliance for Audited Media]] to count the circulation figures from the syndicated local insert with the total circulation count for the flagship national edition of ''USA Today''.<ref name="Gannett">{{cite news | title=Gannett to distribute USA Today edition to 35 papers | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/12/11/usa-today-butterfly-expansion/3965309/ | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=December 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Placing a bet on USA Today | url=https://archives.cjr.org/reports/placing_a_bet_on_usa_today.php | first=David Cay | last=Johnston | work=[[Columbia Journalism Review]] | date=December 11, 2013 | access-date=March 27, 2020 | archive-date=December 25, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225032025/https://archives.cjr.org/reports/placing_a_bet_on_usa_today.php | url-status=dead }}</ref>

On January 4, 2014, ''USA Today'' acquired the consumer product review website [[Reviewed (website)|Reviewed]].<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usa-today-acquires-reviewedcom-112863219.html | title=USA Today Acquires Reviewed.com | publisher=[[PR Newswire]] | date=January 4, 2014}}</ref><ref name=timeline/> In the first quarter of 2014, Gannett launched a condensed ''USA Today'' insert into 31 other newspapers in its network, thereby increasing the number of inserts to 35, in an effort to shore up circulation after it regained its position as the highest-circulated weekday newspaper in the United States in October 2013.<ref name="Gannett"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Haughney |first=Christine |title=Gannett to Add USA Today to Local Papers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/business/media/gannett-to-add-usa-today-to-local-papers.html |url-access=subscription |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 10, 2013}}</ref> On September 3, 2014, ''USA Today'' announced that it would lay off roughly 70 employees in a restructuring of its newsroom and business operations.<ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today Cuts 70 Employees From Newsroom and Business Staff | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/business/media/usa-today-cuts-newsroom-and-business-side-staff.html| work=The New York Times | date=September 3, 2014 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> In October 2014, ''USA Today'' and OpenWager Inc. entered into a partnership to release a [[Online bingo#Mobile Bingo|Bingo]] [[mobile app]] called USA Today Bingo Cruise.<ref>{{cite news | title=OpenWager and USA Today Partner to Launch New Bingo App | url=http://www.bingoreviewer.co.uk/bingo_blog/openwager-and-usa-today-partner-to-launch-new-bingo-app/10339/ | website=BingoReviewer | date=October 2, 2014 | access-date=October 3, 2014 | archive-date=October 6, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006093230/http://www.bingoreviewer.co.uk/bingo_blog/openwager-and-usa-today-partner-to-launch-new-bingo-app/10339/ | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/openwager-partners-with-usa-today-to-unveil-usa-today-bingo-cruise-277859211.html | title=OpenWager Partners with USA Today to Unveil USA Today Bingo Cruise | publisher=[[PR Newswire]] | date=October 2, 2014}}</ref>

On December 3, 2015, Gannett formally launched the USA Today Network, a national digital newsgathering service providing shared content between ''USA Today'' and the company's 92 local newspapers throughout the United States as well as pooling advertising services on both a hyperlocal and national scale. The ''[[Courier Journal]]'' had earlier soft-launched the service as part of a pilot program started on November 17, coinciding with an imaging rebrand for the [[Louisville, Kentucky]]-based newspaper; Gannett's other local newspaper properties, as well as those it acquired through its merger with the [[Journal Media Group]], gradually began identifying themselves as part of the USA Today Network (foregoing use of the Gannett name outside of requisite ownership references) through early January 2016.<ref>{{cite press release | title=Gannett Unites Largest Local to National Media Network under 'USA Today Network' | url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151203005219/en/Gannett-Unites-Largest-Local-National-Media-Network | publisher=[[Business Wire]] | date=December 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Gannett introduces USA Today Network, uniting local, national properties | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/12/03/gannett-introduces-usa-today-network-uniting-local-national-properties/76716562/| first=Roger | last=Yu | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=December 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Gannett rebrands its local papers as USA Today Network | url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2015/gannett-rebrands-its-local-papers-as-usa-today-network/ | first=Rick | last=Edmonds | work=[[Poynter Institute]] | date=December 3, 2015}}</ref>

In the late 2010s, as the print run declined, Gannett pulled back from the extensive and expensive distribution network, opting to have shorter deadlines, and printing the remaining copies from fewer facilities while potentially trucking them longer distances to still be available in the morning.<ref name="farhi2024" />

In May 2021, ''USA Today'' introduced a [[paywall]] for some of its online stories.<ref>{{cite web|date=April 27, 2021|title=No longer a holdout for free, USA Today launches a paywall and digital-only subscription plan|url=https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2021/no-longer-a-holdout-for-free-usa-today-launches-a-paywall-and-digital-only-subscription-plan/|access-date=May 27, 2021|website=Poynter|language=en-US}}</ref>

On June 16, 2022, it was reported that ''USA Today'' removed 23 articles written by journalist Gabriela Miranda after an inquiry related to one of her articles triggered an internal investigation and found that Miranda had fabricated sources on articles pertaining to the [[Texas Heartbeat Act]], Ukrainian women's issues due to the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion]], and an article on sunscreen. Miranda resigned.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mullin |first1=Benjamin |last2=Robertson |first2=Katie |date=June 16, 2022 |title=USA Today to Remove 23 Articles After Investigation Into Fabricated Sources |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/16/business/media/usa-today-fabricated-sources.html |access-date=June 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 16, 2022 |title=USA Today removes 23 stories over 'fabricated' quotes |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/06/16/usa-today-removes-23-stories-over-fabricated-quotes |access-date=June 17, 2022 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 16, 2022 |title=USA Today removes 23 stories after probe finds reporter apparently 'fabricated' quotes |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/usa-today-removes-23-stories-after-probe-finds-reporter-apparently-fabricated-quotes/ |access-date=June 17, 2022 |website=CTVNews |language=en}}</ref>

==Layout and format==
[[File:USA Today cover page.jpg|thumb|Cover page used for February 5, 2009]]
In the main edition of the paper circulated in the United States and [[Canada]], each edition consists of four sections: News (the "front page" section), Money, Sports, and Life. Since March 1998, the Friday edition of Life has been split into two sections: the regular Life focusing on entertainment (subtitled ''Weekend''; section E), which features television reviews and [[TV listings|listings]], a [[DVD]] column, [[Film criticism|film reviews]] and trends, and a travel supplement called ''Destinations & Diversions'' (section D). The international edition of the paper features two sections: News and Money in one, and Sports and Life in the other.

The paper does not print on Saturdays and Sundays; the Friday edition serves as the weekend edition. ''USA Today'' has published special Saturday and Sunday editions in the past: the first issue released during the standard calendar weekend was published on January 19, 1991, when it released a Saturday "Extra" edition updating coverage of the [[Gulf War]] from the previous day; the paper published special seven-day-a-week editions for the first time on July 19, 1996, when it published special editions for exclusive distribution in the host city of [[Atlanta]] and surrounding areas for the two-week duration of the [[1996 Summer Olympics]].<ref name=timeline/> ''USA Today'' prints each complete story on the front page of the respective section, with the exception of the cover story. The cover story is a longer story that requires a jump (readers must turn to another page in the paper to complete the story, usually the next page of that section). On certain days, the news or sports section, will take up two paper sections, and there will be a second cover story within the second section.

Each section is differentiated by a certain color in a box on the top-left corner of the first page; the principal section colors are blue for News (section A), green for Money (section B), red for Sports (section C), and purple for Life (section D); in the paper's early years, the Life and Money sections were also assigned blue nameplates and spot colors, as the presses used at ''USA Today''{{'}}s printing facilities did not yet accommodate the use of other colors to denote all four original sections.<ref name="garcia-usatoday4">{{cite web|title=USA Today turns 30-Part 4-The first newspaper to do that tango of the serious and the silly|url=http://www.garciamedia.com/blog/usa_today_turns_30-part_4-the_first_newspaper_to_do_that_tango_of_the_serio|author=Mario R. García|website=García Media|date=September 12, 2012}}</ref> Orange is used for bonus sections (sections E+), which are published occasionally for [[business travel]] trends and the [[Olympic Games|Olympics]]. Other bonus sections for sports (such as for the [[PGA Tour]] preview, [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA basketball tournaments]], [[Memorial Day]] auto races ([[Indianapolis 500]] and [[Coca-Cola 600]]), [[National Football League|NFL]] opening weekend and the [[Super Bowl]]) previously used the orange color, but later changed to the regular sports red in their sports bonus sections. To strengthen their association with ''USA Today'', Gannett incorporated the ''USA Today'' color scheme into a standardized broadcast graphics package that was phased in across its television station group (which was spun off in July 2015 into the separate broadcast and digital media company [[Tegna, Inc.|Tegna]]) starting in late 2012. The package used the color scheme in a rundown graphic on most stations, persisting throughout their newscasts, as well as bumpers for individual story topics.<ref name=tvnc-newgraphics>{{cite news | title=Gannett Stations Clean Up Their Graphics | url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/64783/gannett-stations-clean-up-their-graphics/ | first=Diana | last=Marszalek | website=TVNewsCheck | date=January 15, 2013 | archive-date=March 27, 2020 | access-date=March 27, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327151549/https://tvnewscheck.com/article/64783/gannett-stations-clean-up-their-graphics/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Unlike other papers, the left-hand quarter of each section are "reefers" (front-page paragraphs ''referring'' to stories on inside pages<ref>{{cite web |title=Reefer, noun 3 |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reefer|website=Dictionary.com}}</ref>), sometimes using sentence-length [[blurb]]s to describe stories inside. The lead reefer is the cover page feature "Newsline", which shows summarized descriptions of headline stories featured in all four main sections and any special sections. As a national newspaper, ''USA Today'' cannot focus on the weather for any one city. Therefore, the entire back page of the News section is used for weather maps of the [[contiguous United States|continental United States]], [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]], as well as temperature lists for many cities throughout the U.S. and the world. Temperatures for individual cities on the primary forecast map and temperature lists are suffixed with a one- or two-letter code, such as "t" for [[thunderstorm]]s, referencing the expected weather conditions. The colorized forecast map was created by staff designer George Rorick (who left ''USA Today'' for a similar position at ''[[The Detroit News]]'' in 1986) and was copied by newspapers around the world, breaking from the traditional style of monochrome contouring or simplistic text to denote temperature ranges.<ref name="garcia-usatoday2"/><ref name="garcia-usatoday3">{{cite web|title=USA Today turns 30-Part 3—A weather map that created a global tsunami|url=http://www.garciamedia.com/blog/usa_today_turns_30-part_3--a_weather_map_that_created_a_global_tsunami | author=Mario R. García|website=García Media |date=September 11, 2012}}</ref> National precipitation maps for the next three days (the next five days before the 2012 redesign) and four-day forecasts and [[air quality index]]es for 36 major U.S. cities (16 cities prior to 1999), with individual cities color-coded by the temperature contour corresponding to the given area on the forecast map, are also featured. Weather data is provided by [[AccuWeather]], which has served as the forecast provider for ''USA Today'' for most of the paper's existence (except from January 2002 to September 2012, when forecast data was provided by [[The Weather Channel]] through a long-term multimedia content agreement with Gannett).<ref>{{cite press release |title=AccuWeather Announces New Partnership With USA Today |url=http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/usa-today-accuweather-partnership/73810 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917022217/http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/usa-today-accuweather-partnership/73810 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 17, 2012 |website=[[AccuWeather]] |publisher=AccuWeather, Inc. |date=September 17, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | title=AccuWeather Chosen by USA Today to Help Deliver the News of the Future | url=https://www.accuweather.com/en/press/73792 | publisher=[[AccuWeather]] | date=September 14, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=The Weather Channel is Named Premier Weather Provider for USA Today | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2002-01-14/the-weather-channel-is-named-premier-weather-provider-for-usa-ii7ptfu8 | publisher=[[Business Wire]] | via=[[Bloomberg News]] | date=January 14, 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=AccuWeather celebrates 50-year anniversary| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/accuweather-celebrates-50-year-anniversary/2012/11/15/8c03d930-2f49-11e2-9f50-0308e1e75445_blog.html | first=Jason | last=Samenow| newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=November 15, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/accuweather-commemorates-50-years-with-yearlong-celebration,1183951/ | title=AccuWeather Commemorates 50 Years With Year-Long Celebration | first=Laura | last=Nichols | website=The State College | date=November 19, 2012 | access-date=October 24, 2016 | archive-date=October 25, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025061329/http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/accuweather-commemorates-50-years-with-yearlong-celebration,1183951/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> In the bottom left-hand corner of the weather page is "Weather Focus", a graphic which explains various meteorological phenomena. On some days, the Weather Focus could be a photo of a rare meteorological event.

On business holidays or days when bonus sections are included in the issue, the Money and Life sections are usually combined into one section, while combinations of the Friday Life editions into one section are common during quiet weeks. Advertising is often covered in the Monday Money section, with a review of a recent television ad, and after [[Super Bowl Sunday]], a review of the ads aired during the broadcast with the results of the ''Ad Track'' live survey. Stock tables for individual stock exchanges (comprising one subsection for companies traded on the [[New York Stock Exchange]], and another for companies trading on [[NASDAQ]] and the [[American Stock Exchange]]) and [[Mutual fund|mutual indexes]] were discontinued with the 2012 redesign due to the myriad electronic ways to check individual stock prices, in line with most newspapers.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Book coverage, including reviews and a national sales chart which debuted on October 28, 1994, is seen on Thursdays in Life, with the full [[Nielsen ratings|A.C. Nielsen television ratings]] chart printed on Wednesdays or Thursdays, depending on release. The paper also publishes the [[Mediabase]] survey for several genres of music based on radio airplay on Tuesdays, along with their own chart of the top ten singles in general on Wednesdays. Because of the same limitations as its nationalized forecasts, the television page in Life, which provides [[prime time]] and [[late night television|late night]] listings (running from 8:00&nbsp;p.m. to 12:30&nbsp;a.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]]), incorporates boilerplate "[[Local news]]" or "[[Local programming]]" descriptions to denote time periods in which the five major English language broadcast networks ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[NBC]], [[CBS]], [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] and [[The CW]]) cede airtime to allow their [[owned-and-operated station|owned]] and [[network affiliate|affiliated]] stations to carry [[broadcast syndication|syndicated programs]] or local newscasts. The television page has never carried local scheduling information similar to those in local newspapers. Like most national papers, ''USA Today'' has no [[comic strip]]s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

One of the staples of the News section is "Across the USA", a state-by-state roundup of headlines. The summaries consist of paragraph-length [[Associated Press]] reports highlighting one story in each state, the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]], and one [[Territories of the United States|U.S. territory]]. Similarly, the "For the Record" page of the Sports section (which features sports scores for the previous four days of league play plus individual non-league events, seasonal league statistics and wagering lines for that day's games) previously featured a rundown of winning numbers from the previous deadline date for [[Lotteries in the United States|all participating state lotteries]] and individual multi-state lotteries.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Some traditions have been retained. The [[news style|lead story]] still appears on the upper-right side of the front page. Commentary and political cartoons occupy the last few pages of the News section. Stock and mutual fund data are presented in the Money section. But ''USA Today'' is sufficiently different in aesthetics to be recognized on sight, even in a mix of other newspapers, such as at a [[newsstand]]. The overall design and layout of ''USA Today'' have been described as [[neo-Victorian]].<ref>{{cite web | title=After Modernism | url=http://formofnews.pbworks.com/w/page/13852307/Chapter%201%20%28part%205%29 | first=Kevin G. | last=Barnhurst | work=American Media in the XX Century: Chapter 1 (part 5) | publisher=University of Illinois at Chicago | year=2006 | quote=The mélange of styles and practices in printed and now web-based newspapers, although postmodern in terms of scholarly and design thinking, might more meaningfully be understood as neo-Victorian. The new styles, embodied most famously in ''USA Today'' and its clones, mark a return to the mystifying abundance of facts and stories that newspapers of the industrial revolution made visually present to readers.}}</ref>

On most of the sections' front pages, in the lower left-hand corner, are "USA Today Snapshots" graphs, which offer statistics on lifestyle interests according to the section (for example, a snapshot in "Life" could show how many people tend to watch a certain genre of television show based upon their mood). These "Snapshots" graphs employ icons roughly pertaining to the graph's subject (using the example above, the graph's bars could be made up of several TV sets or ended by one). Snapshots are loosely based on research by a national institute (with the credited source in fine print below the graph).{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The newspaper also features an occasional magazine supplement called ''Open Air'', which launched on March 7, 2008, and appears several times a year. Other [[advertorial]]s appear throughout the year, mainly on Fridays.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://redesign.adweek.com/digital/usa-today-launches-open-air/ | title=USA Today Launches "Open Air" | work=[[AdWeek]] | date=December 10, 2007 | url-access=subscription | access-date=March 27, 2020 | archive-date=March 27, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327151553/https://redesign.adweek.com/digital/usa-today-launches-open-air/ | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/72444/gannett-to-launch-open-air-mslo-shutters-bluep.html | title=Gannett To Launch 'Open Air', MSLO Shutters 'Blueprint' | first=Erik | last=Sass | work=[[MediaPost]] | date=December 11, 2007}}</ref>

===Opinion section===
The opinion section prints ''USA Today'' editorials, columns by guest writers and members of the editorial board of contributors,<ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today's Opinion columnists | url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/USA-Today-board-of-contributors.htm | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=August 29, 2011}}</ref> letters to the editor, and editorial cartoons. One unique feature of the ''USA Today'' editorial page is the publication of opposing points of view: alongside the editorial board's piece on the day's topic runs an opposing view by a guest writer, often an expert in the field. The Board of Contributors, which is distinct from the paper's news staff, chooses the opinion pieces that appear in each edition.<ref name=debate>{{cite news | title=About USA Today Editorials/Debate | url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/USAToday-editorials-debate.htm | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=April 6, 2010}}</ref>

From 1999 to 2002 and again from 2004 to 2015, the editorial page editor was Brian Gallagher, who has worked for the newspaper since its founding.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.cision.com/us/2015/05/changes-at-usa-today-editorial-board/ | title=Changes at USA Today Editorial Board | publisher=[[Cision]] | date=May 15, 2015}}</ref> Other members of the editorial board included deputy editorial page editor Bill Sternberg, executive forum editor John Siniff, op-ed/forum page editor Glen Nishimura, operations editor Thuan Le Elston, letters editor Michelle Poblete, web content editor Eileen Rivers, and editorial writers Dan Carney, George Hager, and Saundra Torry.<ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today's Editorial Board | url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/USAToday-editorial-board.htm | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=April 6, 2010}}</ref> The newspaper's website calls this group "demographically and ideologically diverse".<ref name=debate/>

Beginning with the [[1984 United States presidential election]], ''USA Today'' did not endorse candidates for the [[President of the United States]] or any other state or federal political office, a policy which has been re-evaluated during each four-year election cycle by the paper's Board of Contributors through an independent process, with any decision to override the policy based on a consensus vote in which fewer than two of the editorial board's members dissent or hold differing opinions.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/09/29/donald-trump-editorial-board-al-neuharth-editorials-debates/91294382/ | title=Why we're breaking tradition: Our view | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=September 29, 2016}}</ref> For most of its history, the paper's political editorials (most of them linked to the presidential election cycle) had focused instead on major issues based on the differing concerns of voters.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The avoidance of political editorials played a great part in ''USA Today''{{'s}} long-standing reputation for "fluff", but after its 30th anniversary revamp, the paper took a more active stance on political issues, calling for stronger gun laws after the [[Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting]] in 2012. It heavily criticized the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] for both the [[2013 government shutdown]] and the 2015 revolts in the [[United States House of Representatives]] that ended with the resignation of [[John Boehner]] as House Speaker. It also called out then-[[President of the United States|President]] [[Barack Obama]] and other top members of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] for what it perceived as "inaction" during 2013–14, particularly over the [[Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)|NSA scandal]] and the [[ISIL beheading incidents]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The editorial board broke from its "non-endorsement" policy for the first time on September 29, 2016, when it published an op-ed piece condemning the candidacy of [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee [[Donald Trump]], calling him "unfit for the presidency" due to his inflammatory campaign rhetoric (particularly that aimed at the press, with certain media organizations being openly targeted and even banned from campaign rallies, including ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[The Washington Post]]'', [[CNN]] and the [[BBC]], military veterans who had been prisoners of war, including 2008 Republican presidential candidate and Vietnam War veteran [[John McCain]], immigrants, and various ethnic and religious groups); his temperament and lack of financial transparency; his "checkered" business record; his use of false and hyperbolic statements; the inconsistency of his viewpoints and issues with his vision on domestic and foreign policy; and, based on comments he had made during his campaign and criticisms by both [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] and Republicans on these views, the potential risks to national security and constitutional ethics under a Trump administration, asking voters to "resist the siren song of a dangerous demagogue".<ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today's Editorial Board: Trump is 'unfit for the presidency' | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/09/29/dont-vote-for-donald-trump-editorial-board-editorials-debates/91295020/ | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=September 29, 2016}}</ref> The board wrote that the piece was not a "qualified endorsement" of Democratic nominee [[Hillary Clinton]], for whom it was unable to reach a consensus (some editorial board members expressed that Clinton's public service record would help her "serve the nation ably as its president", while others had "serious reservations about [her] sense of entitlement, [...] lack of candor and... [[Hillary Clinton email controversy|extreme carelessness in handling classified information]]"), suggesting instead [[tactical voting]] against Trump and GOP seats in swing states, advising voters to decide whether to vote for either Clinton, [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] nominee [[Gary Johnson]], [[Green Party of the United States|Green Party]] nominee [[Jill Stein]] or a write-in candidate for president; or to focus on Senate, House and other down-ballot political races.<ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today maroons readers with un-endorsement of Donald Trump | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2016/09/30/usa-today-maroons-readers-with-un-endorsement-of-donald-trump/| first=Erik | last=Wemple | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today breaks non-endorsement tradition | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/usa-today-breaks-non-endorsement-tradition-calls-donald-trump-unfit-for-the-presidency/ | first=Emily | last=Schultheis | work=[[CBS News]] | date=September 29, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title='Don't vote for Trump,' says USA Today in first presidential endorsement in its history | url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-live-updates-trailguide-09292016-htmlstory.html#dont-vote-for-trump-says-usa-today-in-first-presidential-endorsement-in-its-history | first=Melanie | last=Mason | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=September 29, 2016 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In February 2018, ''USA Today'' published an [[op-ed]] by [[Jerome Corsi]], the DC bureau chief for the fringe conspiracy website [[InfoWars]].<ref name="Darcy-2018">{{Cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/28/media/usa-today-infowars-op-ed/index.html | title=USA Today publishes op-ed by InfoWars conspiracy theorist | last=Darcy | first=Oliver | work=[[CNN]] | date=February 28, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.salon.com/2018/02/28/usa-today-published-an-op-ed-from-a-conspiracy-theorist-who-works-for-alex-jones_partner/ | title=USA Today published an op-ed from a conspiracy theorist who works for Alex Jones | first=Eric | last=Hananoki | work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] | date=February 28, 2018}}</ref> Corsi, a prominent [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorist]], was described by ''USA Today'' as an "author" and "investigative journalist".<ref name="Darcy-2018" /> Corsi was a prominent proponent of the [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|false conspiracy theory]] that Barack Obama was not a US citizen, and Infowars has promoted conspiracy theories such as [[9/11 conspiracy theories|9/11 being an "inside job".]]<ref name="Darcy-2018" />

In October 2018, ''USA Today'' was criticized by [[NBC News]] for publishing an editorial by President Trump that was replete with inaccuracies.<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/usa-today-criticized-printing-trump-op-ed-despite-inaccuracies-n918536 | title=USA Today criticized for printing Trump op-ed despite alleged inaccuracies | work=[[NBC News]] | date=October 10, 2018}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' fact-checker said that "almost every sentence contained a misleading statement or a falsehood."<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/10/fact-checking-president-trumps-usa-today-op-ed-medicare-for-all/ | title=Analysis {{!}} Fact-checking President Trump's USA Today op-ed on 'Medicare-for-All' | first=Glenn | last=Kessler | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=October 10, 2018}}</ref>

In 2020, ''USA Today'' endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee [[Joe Biden]]. The newspaper also published an opposing editorial by Vice President [[Mike Pence]], which called for his and Trump's re-election.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fischer |first=Sara |title=USA Today breaks tradition by endorsing Joe Biden |url=https://www.axios.com/usa-today-endorsement-joe-biden-president-c61097f9-963d-4eac-a9c2-e3e865456f56.html |work=[[Axios (website)|Axios]] |date=October 20, 2020 |access-date=October 20, 2020}}</ref>

In 2024, after the presidential election, opinion fellow for USA Today Dace Potas published: Trump is president again and Democrats can blame Biden's ego.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/11/06/trump-wins-pennsylvania-2024-election/76058308007/ | title=Opinion: Trump is president again and Democrats can blame Biden's ego | website=USA Today }}</ref>

''USA Today'' was the only one of 42 prominent American daily newspapers rated as "moderate" by the [[Boston University]] Library (all the others were rated as "leans liberal" or "leans conservative"), based on their editorial endorsements in the 2012 presidential election.<ref>{{cite web |title=Newspapers - Which Way Do They Lean?|url=https://library.bu.edu/blumenthal/bias |publisher=[[Boston University]]}}</ref>

==Personnel==

In May 2012, [[Larry S. Kramer|Larry Kramer]], a 40-year media industry veteran and former president of CBS Digital Media, was appointed president and publisher of ''USA Today'', replacing [[David Hunke]], who had been publisher of the newspaper since 2009.<ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today publisher to retire in September | url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/media/story/2012-04-10/usa-today-david-hunke-chairman-retire/54153046/1 | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] |date=April 10, 2012}}</ref> Kramer was tasked with developing a new strategy for the paper as it sought to increase revenue from its digital operations.<ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today Publisher Larry Kramer Looks to a Local Future | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/usa-today-publisher-larry_b_2229443 | work=[[HuffPost]] | date=December 5, 2012}}</ref>

In July 2012, Kramer hired [[David Callaway (journalist)|David Callaway]], whom he had hired as lead editor of ''[[MarketWatch]]'' in 1999, two years after Kramer founded that website, as the paper's editor-in-chief. Callaway had previously worked at [[Bloomberg News]] covering banking, investment-banking, and asset management businesses throughout Europe, and at the ''[[Boston Herald]]'', where he co-wrote a daily financial column on "comings and goings in the Boston business district".<ref>{{cite news | title=Callaway to become top USA Today editor | url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/callaway-to-become-top-usa-today-editor-2012-07-10 | first=David B. | last=Wilkerson | work=[[MarketWatch]] | date=July 10, 2012}}</ref>

The editor-in-chief {{as of|2024|9|lc=y|df=US}} is Caren Bohan.<ref name="Caren Bohan USA TODAY Staff Page">{{cite web | url=https://www.usatoday.com/staff/2648184001/caren-bohan/ | title=Caren Bohan USA TODAY Staff Page | website=USA Today }}</ref>

==Related publications and services==

===''USA Weekend''===
{{main|USA Weekend}}
'''''USA Weekend''''' was a sister publication that launched in 1953 as ''Family Weekly'', a national [[Sunday magazine]] supplement intended for the Sunday editions of U.S. newspapers. It adopted its final title following Gannett's purchase of the magazine in 1985.<ref name="Family">{{cite news | title=Gannett Gets Family Weekly | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/22/business/gannett-gets-family-weekly.html | work=The New York Times | date=February 22, 1985 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> The magazine was distributed to approximately 800 newspapers nationwide at its peak, with most Gannett-owned local newspapers carrying it by default within their Sunday editions. It focused on social issues, entertainment, health, food and travel.<ref name="Family"/><ref name=portada>{{cite news | title=Gannett folds USA Weekend Magazine | url=https://www.portada-online.com/hispanic-media/hispanic-newspapers/gannett-folds-usa-weekend-magazine/ | website=Portada | date=December 7, 2014}}</ref> On December 5, 2014, Gannett announced the end of ''USA Weekend'' after the December 26–28, 2014 edition, citing increasing operational costs and reduced advertising revenue. Most of its participating newspapers replaced it with the competing Sunday magazine ''[[Parade (magazine)|Parade]]''.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news | title=Consolidation Coming in Sunday Magazines | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/business/consolidation-coming-in-sunday-magazines.html | first=Stuart | last=Elliott | work=The New York Times |date=December 11, 2014 | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=parade>{{cite news|title=Star Tribune plans to dump USA Weekend, pick up Parade| url=https://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2009/08/star-tribune-plans-dump-usa-weekend-pick-parade/ | first=David | last=Brauer | work=[[MinnPost]]|date=August 19, 2009}}</ref><ref name=wrap>{{cite news| title=USA Today Shuttering USA Weekend Magazine |url=https://www.thewrap.com/usa-today-shuttering-usa-weekend-magazine/ | first=Jordan | last=Chariton | work=[[The Wrap]] | date=December 5, 2014}}</ref><ref name=adweek>{{cite news | title=USA Today Shutters Weekend Magazine – USA Weekend was the country's second-largest news mag | url=https://www.adweek.com/digital/usa-today-shutters-weekend-magazine-161806/ | first=Emma | last=Bazilian | work=[[Adweek]] | date=December 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/12/05/usa-weekend-shuts-down/19966253/ | title=USA Today to end publication of USA Weekend| first=Roger | last=Yu | work=USA Today | date=December 5, 2014}}</ref>

===''USA Today Sports Weekly''===
{{Main|USA Today Sports Weekly}}
'''''USA Today Sports Weekly''''' is a weekly magazine that covers news and statistics from [[Major League Baseball]], [[Minor League Baseball]], [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] baseball, the [[National Football League]] (NFL), and [[NASCAR]]. It debuted on April 5, 1991, as ''USA Today Baseball Weekly'', a [[tabloid (paper size)|tabloid]]-sized publication published weekly on Wednesdays during the baseball season and bi-weekly during the off-season. The magazine expanded its sports coverage on September 4, 2002, adopting a general title after adding stories about the NFL. ''Sports Weekly'' added coverage of NASCAR on February 15, 2006, which lasted only through that year's race season. It added coverage of NCAA college football on August 8, 2007. The editorial operations of ''Sports Weekly'' operated independently from ''USA Today'' until being integrated into the newspaper's sports department in late 2005.<ref name=timeline/><ref>{{cite news | first=Mark | last=Potts | title=Another Pitch for Baseball Fans; USA Today Plans Weekly Publication to Start on April 5 | url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1046769.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225045124/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1046769.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 25, 2016 | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=January 29, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/29/business/usa-today-plans-a-weekly-newspaper-about-baseball.html|title=USA Today Plans a Weekly Newspaper About Baseball|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 29, 1991|access-date=March 6, 2024}}</ref>

===The Big Lead===
{{Main|The Big Lead}}
'''The Big Lead''' is a sports [[blog]] operated by ''USA Today'' that was launched in February 2006 by Fantasy Sports Ventures, co-founded by Jason McIntyre and David Lessa. In April 2008, the blog established a strategic content and marketing partnership with Gannett. Gannett purchased The Big Lead in January 2012.<ref>{{cite news | title=Gannett Buys Big Lead Sports Owner Fantasy Sports Ventures | url=http://allthingsd.com/20120124/gannett-buys-big-lead-sports-owner-fantasy-sports-ventures/ | first=Peter | last=Kafka | work=[[AllThingsD]] | date=January 24, 2012}}</ref> The site is usually updated 10 to 15 times per day between 8:00&nbsp;a.m. and 6:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern Time. It mainly covers sports but also provides news and commentary on other news topics, ranging from politics to [[pop culture]].

===''USA Today: The Television Show''===
In 1987, Gannett and producer/former [[NBC]] CEO [[Grant Tinker]] began developing a [[news magazine]] series for [[broadcast syndication]] that attempted to bring the breezy style of ''USA Today'' to television.<ref>{{cite news | title=And Now, Folks... Here's Tomorrow's News New Show, New Concept&nbsp;– A Newspaper on TV | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8040929.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117083101/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8040929.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 17, 2013 | newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] | date=December 15, 1987}}</ref> The result was ''USA Today: The Television Show'' (later ''USA Today on TV'',<ref>{{YouTube | id=YUo3Feeno2Q | title=USA Today On TV 1989 Intro And Outro}}</ref> then shortened to simply ''USA Today''), which premiered on September 12, 1988.<ref>{{cite news | title=Now, Here's the Good News...;USA Today's TV Spinoff, Focusing on 'the Journalism of Hope' | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1278475.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117083108/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1278475.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 17, 2013 | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=September 12, 1988}}</ref> Correspondents on the program included Edie Magnus, [[Robin Young]], [[Boyd Matson]], Kenneth Walker, Dale Harimoto, Ann Abernathy, [[Bill Macatee]] and Beth Ruyak. As with the newspaper, the show was divided into four "sections" corresponding to the respective parts of the paper: News (the major headlines), Money (financial news and consumer reports), Sports (sports news and scores) and Life (entertainment and lifestyle stories). The series was syndicated by GTG Marketing, a subsidiary of GTG Entertainment, which promoted it as a prime access magazine show, hoping that stations would air it in a prime-time slot.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 28, 1987 |title=GTG Signs 'Three' To Clear 'Today'; Checkerboard Out? |page=44 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

Throughout its run, the series received poor reviews and low ratings. From the beginning, there was concern. After one week, Henry Siegel, owner of LBS Communications, called the show a "calamity" and among the most disastrous debuts in syndication history.<ref>{{Cite news|id={{ProQuest|1438495218}}|title=First Edition Ratings Flop: No Tomorrow for 'USA Today'?|first=John|last=Dempsey|work=Variety|page=55|date=September 21, 1988}}</ref> The program also suffered from being scheduled in poor timeslots in certain markets, like [[New York City]], the country's largest [[media market]], where [[WCBS-TV]] aired the program at 2:05&nbsp;a.m., dragging down the national ratings, before canceling it in February 1989.<ref>{{Cite news|page=7|date=February 14, 1989|work=Variety|title='USA Today On TV' off WCBS-TV|id={{ProQuest|1286126577}} }}</ref> It was then picked up by [[WNBC]]; after airing in the equally weak 5:30&nbsp;a.m. slot, the series was moved to the more clear-eyed 9:30&nbsp;a.m., but fared no better<ref>{{cite news | title='USA Today on TV' Remains a Secret in NYC | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-156070337.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117083115/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-156070337.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 17, 2013 | newspaper=[[Albany Times Union]] | date=August 21, 1989}}</ref> (in contrast, [[CITY-DT]] in [[Toronto]] ran it at 5:00&nbsp;p.m.).<ref>{{cite news | title=TV's USA Today served to viewers as a 'side dish' to network news | first=Christopher | last=Michaud | agency=[[Reuters]] | newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] | page=C6 | date=September 12, 1988}}</ref> Other stations quickly canceled or downgraded the program's airings as it became clear that it was a dud; the original executive producer was fired and the show retooled with Magnus and Macatee as anchors and a new on-air look and sound.<ref>{{Cite news|page=50|first=John|last=Dempsey|work=Variety|title=GTG not giving up hope on floundering 'USA Today'|date=January 18, 1989|id={{ProQuest|1286254380}} }}</ref> The series was renewed for a second season, but the setbacks led to the mid-season cancellation of the TV version of ''USA Today'' in November 1989, after one-and-a-half seasons. The final edition aired on January 7, 1990.<ref>{{cite news | title='USA Today on TV' Axed; Low Ratings Lead Gannett, Tinker to Cancel | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1224653.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117083054/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1224653.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 17, 2013 | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=November 23, 1989}}</ref> The cancellation, a $13 million loss for GTG, was believed to make the show the costliest failure in syndication history.<ref>{{Cite news|title='USA Today' getting the ax|page=46|work=Variety|date=November 29, 1989|id={{ProQuest|1438528151}} }}</ref>

Gannett announced plans to develop a ''USA Today''-branded weekly half-hour television program titled ''Sports Page'' as part of a renewed initiative to extend the brand into television, but this program, planned for fall 2004, never launched.<ref name=timeline/>

===''VRtually There''===
''VRtually There'' was a weekly [[virtual reality]] news program produced by the USA Today Network, which debuted on October 20, 2016. The program, which was carried on the ''USA Today'' mobile app and is still available on [[YouTube]], showcased three original segments outlining news stories through a first-person perspective, recorded and produced by journalists from ''USA Today'' and its co-owned local newspapers. The program included "cubemercials", lengthy commercials made by Gannett's in-house creative studio, GET Creative, with the goal of enabling consumer engagement in totally immersive experiences through virtual reality.<ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today Network Releases Its First Branded VR News Show 'VRtually There' | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pr/2016/10/20/usa-today-network-releases-its-first-branded-vr-news-show-vrtually-there/92452296/ | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=October 20, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2017/05/11/vrtually-there-season-two-makes-usa-today-the-leading-360-vr-news-producer/ | title='VRtually There' Season Two Makes USA Today The Leading 360 VR News Producer | first=Charlie | last=Fink | work=[[Forbes]] | date=May 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Guaglione|first=Sara|date=October 20, 2016|title=USA Today Network Debuts 'VRtually There'|work=MediaPost|url=https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/287289/usa-today-network-debuts-vrtually-there.html}}</ref> The last story was uploaded on August 1, 2017, less than a year after the series was created.<ref>{{cite web |title=Extreme wheelchair athlete shreds skate park in VR |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ek-q5bXuqg |website=Youtube | date=August 2017 |access-date=August 16, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

===''For the Win''===
''USA Today'' operates a sports website called ''For the Win''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftw.usatoday.com |title=For The Win &#124; What fans are talking about |website=For the Win |access-date=February 28, 2022}}</ref> It was launched in April 2013 and was the first sports property devoted to social news.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usa-today-sports-launches-for-the-win----the-first-ever-sports-media-property-dedicated-exclusively-to-social-news-204069401.html|title=USA TODAY Sports Launches For the Win|publisher=USA Today Sports/Gannett|agency=[[PR Newswire]]|date=April 22, 2013|access-date=March 10, 2024}}</ref> The sports and sports leagues/organizations covered are the [[National Football League]] (NFL), the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA), the [[Women's National Basketball Association]] (WNBA), [[National Hockey League]] (NHL), [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB), college [[american football|football]], college [[basketball]], [[motorsports]], [[Association football|soccer]], [[golf]], outdoor sports, and the [[African-American]] cable television network [[Black Entertainment Television|BET]]. A gateway to [[TicketSmarter]] to purchase sports and other event tickets is also hosted.

''For the Win'' has sections covering pop culture and video games. Some articles for the latter are contributed by Good Luck Have Fun (GLHF), which describes itself as a gaming content agency that provides publishers around the globe, such as ''USA Today'' and ''[[Sports Illustrated]],''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://glhf.gg/publishers/ | title=Publishers &#124; GLHF }}</ref> with text and video.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/author/glhf | title=GLHF }}</ref>

===Over-the-top and FAST channels===

In 2018, Gannett launched ''USA Today''-branded [[over-the-top media service|over-the-top]] channels, ''USA Today News'' and ''USA Today SportsWire'' (later renamed as USA Today Sports), which then were relaunched in 2021 as [[free ad-supported streaming television]] (FAST) channels available on [[Tubi]], [[The Roku Channel]], [[Xumo|Xumo Play]], [[Plex, Inc.|Plex]], [[Amazon Freevee]], [[Local Now]] and [[Samsung TV Plus]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mediaplaynews.com/gannett-relaunches-usa-today-streaming-video-platforms/|title=Gannett Relaunches USA Today Streaming Video Platforms|website=Media Play News|date=August 2, 2021|access-date=March 10, 2024}}</ref>

==Award programs==
* [[USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award|''USA Today'' Minor League Player of the Year Award]]: First presented in 1988, this annual award has been given to a [[Minor league baseball]] player judged to have had the most outstanding season by a thirteen-person panel of baseball experts.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/alex-bregman-named-usa-today-minor-league-player-of-the-year-199850640 | title=Alex Bregman Named USA Today Minor League Player of the Year | work=[[Major League Baseball]] | date=September 6, 2016}}</ref>
* [[USA Today All-USA High School Baseball Team|''USA Today'' All-USA High School Baseball Team]]: First presented in 1998, the award honors between nine and eleven outstanding high school baseball players from around the United States with selection to the team (separate awards honoring the High School Baseball Player of the Year and High School Baseball Coach of the Year have been given since 1989<ref>{{cite news | title=Baseball: Players and Coaches of the Year (1989–1998) | url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/preps/records/sbhs.htm | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=March 8, 1999}}</ref><ref name="usatoday7">{{cite news |title=Super 25 and All-USA archive | url=https://usatodayhss.com/ | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]]}}</ref>).
* [[USA Today All-USA High School Basketball Team|''USA Today'' All-USA High School Basketball Team]]: First presented in 1983, the award honors outstanding male and female basketball players from high schools around the United States with selection to the team, with one member of each team being named High School Basketball Player of the Year as well as coaches from a select boys' and girls' team as High School Basketball Coach of the Year.<ref name="usatoday7"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Basketball: Boys' players and coaches of year (1982–2006) | url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/boys-honors.htm | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=June 20, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Basketball: Girls' players and coaches of year (1982–2006) | url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/girls-honors.htm | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=January 17, 2007}}</ref>
* ''USA Today'' All-Joe Team (NFL): First presented in 1992 in tribute to [[Kansas City Chiefs]] veteran defensive lineman [[Joe Phillips (American football)|Joe Phillips]], the award honors 52 players across the NFL for exemplary performance during their rookie season.<ref>{{cite news | title=All-Joe Team: The unheralded prime performers from NFL '10 | url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2011-01-25-all-joe-team_N.htm | first=Nate | last=Davis | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=January 26, 2011}}</ref>
* ''USA Today''/National Prep Poll [[High School Football National Championship]]: Predating the first publication of ''USA Today'' under the sole decision of the National Prep Poll, it is a national championship honor awarded to the best [[high school football]] team(s) in the United States, based on rankings by the newspaper's sports editorial department.
* [[USA Today All-USA High School Football Team|''USA Today'' All-USA High School Football Team]]: First presented in 1982, the award honors outstanding football players from high schools around the United States (including ranking the Super 25 teams in the U.S., the Top 10 teams in the East, South, Midwest, and West, and [[USA Today High School Football Player of the Year]]).<ref>{{cite news | title=USA Today All-USA teams 1982–2001 | url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/preps/football/2001-12-26-allusa-team20.htm | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=December 25, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Recent All-USA teams | url=https://usatodayhss.com/ | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] Company}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=June 26, 2006|title=Football: Players and Coaches of the Year (1982–2005)|newspaper=USA Today|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/preps/football/year-by-year-honors.htm#coaches}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Super 25 and All-USA archive|newspaper=USA Today|url=https://usatodayhss.com/}}</ref>
* [[USA Today High School Football Coach of the Year|''USA Today'' High School Football Coach of the Year]] – First presented in 1982, it is awarded to a coach of one of the teams selected for the All-USA football team.
* ''USA Today'' Road Warrior of the Year only presented once, to Joyce Gioia in 2013.

==In popular culture==
* In 1986, the [[humor magazine|satirical magazine]] ''[[The Harvard Lampoon]]'' published an issue that featured a parody of ''USA Today''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/09/16/playing-on-the-parody/70b382a2-e5e4-4e45-8e94-4eea8e56bd53|title=Playing on the Parody|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 16, 1986|access-date=March 13, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/09/16/USA-Today-target-of-Harvard-Lampoon/4225527227200|title=USA Today target of Harvard Lampoon|agency=[[United Press International|UPI]]|date=September 16, 1986|access-date=March 13, 2024}}</ref>
* ''[[Back to the Future Part II]]'' (1989) depicts a [[Hill Valley (Back to the Future)|Hill Valley]] edition of ''USA Today'' from October 22, 2015. On that eventual date, the newspaper ran a recreation of the front page in tribute to the film, featuring the same headlines (sans a piece mentioning a [[state visit]] by "Queen [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Diana]]", the princess having [[Death of Diana, Princess of Wales|died in 1997]]).<ref>{{cite news | title=Fans race to get 'Back to the Future' paper | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/10/22/back-to-the-future-newspaper-success/74418826/ | first=Lindsay | last=Deutsch | newspaper=USA Today | publisher=[[Gannett]] | date=October 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://qz.com/529772/this-is-the-cover-of-usa-today-on-back-to-the-future-day/ | title=This is the cover of USA Today for "Back to the Future" day | first=Adam | last=Epstein | work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]] | date=October 21, 2015}}</ref>
* A 1991 episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' ("[[Homer Defined]]") featured a parody of the paper ("U.S. of A. News"), whose lead story was "#2 is #1", in reference to pencils. Lisa criticizes the paper's blandness, but Homer retorts, "Hey, this is the only paper in America that's not afraid to tell the truth, that everything is just fine."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2003-02-06-usatoday_x.htm | title=1 brush with fame for USA Today | work=USA Today | date=February 7, 2003}}</ref>
* A 2010 episode of ''[[Futurama]]'' ("[[A Clockwork Origin]]") featured a parody of the paper ("USB Today").<ref>{{citation | url= https://theinfosphere.org/USB_Today| title= USB Today - the Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki}}</ref> The paper was also parodied on the 2007 [[Direct-to-video|direct-to-DVD]] special "[[Bender's Big Score]]" as "USA Toady", possibly as a reference to the character [[List of Futurama characters|Hypnotoad]].<ref>{{citation | url= https://theinfosphere.org/USA_Toady| title= USA Toady - the Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki}}</ref>
* ''[[Total Recall (1990 film)|Total Recall]]'' (1990) featured the ''Mars Today'' newspaper in the film's Mars setting.
* The 2004 [[mockumentary]] feature film ''[[C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America]]'', directed by [[Kevin Willmott]], featured a parody of the newspaper titled ''CSA Today'', in the film's fictional [[alternate history]] setting that the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] had won the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite AV media|title=C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America|medium=Film|location=United States|year=2004|publisher=Hodcarrier Films/IFC Films}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Virginia|Journalism}}
* [[Super Bowl Ad Meter|''USA Today'' Super Bowl Ad Meter]]
* [[Viewtron]]
* {{C|USA Today journalists}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Ernie |date=September 28, 2022 |title=Way back in 1989, ''USA Today'' launched an online sports service. I found it at Goodwill |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2022/09/way-back-in-1989-usa-today-launched-an-online-sports-service-i-found-it-at-goodwill/ |publisher=Nieman Lab}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}{{official website|https://gtvnewshd.com/|name=Latest Updates}}* {{official website}}

{{White House James S. Brady Press Briefing Room seating chart}}
{{Gannett}}
{{PulitzerPrize Explanatory Reporting}}
{{VirginiaDailyPapers}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usa Today}}
[[Category:USA Today| ]]
[[Category:Companies based in McLean, Virginia]]
[[Category:Gannett publications]]
[[Category:National newspapers published in the United States]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1982]]
[[Category:Daily newspapers published in the United States]]
[[Category:1982 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Universal Windows Platform apps]]
[[Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners]]
[[Category:Daily newspapers published in Virginia]]
[[Category:First-run syndicated television programs in the United States]]
[[Category:1988 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1990 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1980s American television news shows]]
[[Category:1990s American television news shows]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Entertainment news shows in the United States]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners]]
[[Category:Podcasting companies]]