USA Today at 20: the inside story; two tumultuous decades have passed since the magazine was launched, providing an open forum for the viewpoints of the nation's leaders and other experts

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), July, 1998

As for our part, there are no axes to grind that would alter authors' journalistic integrity. Their opinions are not filtered through our staff's views and/or style. In demanding well-written and well-thought-out articles, we afford our audience the opportunity to read the writer's words, not some homogenized version raked over by our editors. At times, we may run pro-and-con views together, though, if a strong opinion piece comes in that may upset people, there is not necessarily a compunction to hunt up a counterpoint that refutes it. If there's enough anger or indignation out there, someone inevitably will seek us out to pen a response. If lucid and convincing, we'll run it.

The most memorable instance of this was our January 1996 cover story dealing with "Militia Mania," decidedly anti-militia in tone. That triggered a response from a militia member in the West explaining the point of view of this group of obviously enraged citizens. Whether we agreed with his arguments or not, they merited the attention of our readers.

Defining problems

Speaking about cover stories, those which arguably had the greatest impact were a trio that exposed an America not many of us can be proud of. "The Uncaring Society" (May 1983) and "The Hardening of America" (March 1994) revealed how, in a nation riddled by problems such as violent crime, unemployment, fragmented families, racism, single parenthood, homelessness, and teenage pregnancy, Americans have become desensitized to the plight of others. The most striking--and profoundly saddest--aspect of these two cover stories was the fact that 11 years had passed between them, yet the root problems still existed.

Then, in 1995, USA Today set out to define "The Age of Irreverence," demonstrating how the nation had become infected with an epidemic of rudeness, vulgarity, greed, inconsideration, and uncouth behavior, as well as a disregard of values. We noted that morality, ethics, and standards have disintegrated, symbolizing all of this with a photo of a vulgarly upthrust middle finger. Some readers took offense at the picture, ignoring the underlying truth behind it. Yet, three years later, few can deny our characterization of the era, epitomized by the current assault on the presidency led--we are sad to say--by the American media. Whatever one's opinion of the man in the White House, the office still should command the nation's respect.

Why did we take such controversial stands? Lehrer notes that "We've attempted to define the age in which we live. More than 10 years ago, we called it `the Uncaring Society.' People would step over homeless people on the street without a second look. One research study focused a camera on a car with a fur coat locked inside. As a thief tried to break into the car, people just passed by, ignoring what was going on. Nobody cared. We attempted this again with the present age, what we called `the Age of Irreverence,' and we had a very interesting experience with our readers when they misinterpreted our cover. Still, we tried to show the reader that people had lost respect for institutions and high office--even the presidency. This was a demanding undertaking, but it's our mission to show what's going on in America.