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For the reader with little time or patience, USA Today's brevity is its major asset. Even for those who cluck over the superficial handling of complex issues, the paper has several strengths. USA Today is good at spotting a trend early, whether it is the growing popularity of Tofutti or the rising demand for automobile sunroofs. Its emphasis on American popular culture leads its reporters to explore in telling detail, day after day, such events as Coca-Cola's switches in formula and just about anything to do with Hollywood. The writing style, once derided as pale and plodding, has grown much livelier.
Almost any newspaper editor who is questioned on the influence of USA Today will agree that, yes, it is a force, and will add, "My competition is copying that paper shamelessly." Though some may be loath to admit it, executives at papers ranging from the Minneapolis Star and Tribune to the New York Daily News to the Orlando Sentinel acknowledge that USA Today's sports coverage has led them to beef up their own sections. Many newspapers have sprinkled their front pages with bold colors, expanded their weather maps and added more charts and sidebars. Though most editors contend that their papers were moving in that direction anyway, some acknowledge that USA Today blazed the path. "Editors are now aware that you can get a lot of information into a chart or graph rather than a ten-or 15-inch story," says Larry Tarleton, news managing editor of the Dallas Times Herald. Says Michael Keegan, assistant managing editor for art at the Washington Post: "Its greatest influence is on design. A lot of editors are saying, 'This is good. It's clear. We can do this.' "
Some editors, however, still treat the paper as a leprous intruder. "It's not our kind of journalism," says James Greenfield, an assistant managing editor of the New York Times. Observes Milwaukee Journal Editor Sig Gissler: "The paper tries to appeal to younger readers who might have a shorter attention span."
All editors agree, however, that USA Today has not hurt the circulation of their own papers. Publisher Black is not surprised, since USA Today has never been touted as a replacement for local papers. According to Black, the paper has created a unique audience made up, in part, of those who read hometown papers for local stories and ads but want a comprehensive capsule of national and international news, plus a sizable number of people who were never daily-newspaper buyers until USA Today came along.
When USA Today made its debut, some newspaper executives believed that its format would attract primarily lower-class readers. But surveys by the Simmons Market Research Bureau show that the paper draws many of the young, upscale readers that Madison Avenue covets. Nonetheless, USA Today faces stiff competition from magazines and television for national advertising dollars. Unlike some magazines, USA Today does not offer regional advertising editions targeted for specific audiences. Although advertiser resistance has not been fully overcome, it is easing. "The color and setup of USA Today fairly well guarantees that if someone goes through the newspaper, he is going to see your ad," says Richard Kostyra, media director at J. Walter Thompson, a New York ad agency.