About USA Today

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Allen 'Al' Neuharth. The paper has the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States (averaging over 2.25 million copies every weekday), and among English-language broadsheets, it comes second world-wide, behind only the 2.6 million daily paid copies of The Times of India. Its circulation figures are a matter of some dispute, however, as USA Today has many contracts ensuring distribution in hotels, often to customers unaware they are paying for the newspaper. USA Today is distributed in all 50 states.

USA Today was founded in 1982 with the goal of providing a national newspaper in the U.S. market, where generally only a single local newspaper was available. Colorful and bold, with many large diagrams, charts, and photographs, it contrasted with the relatively colorless papers of the time such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Emphasizing its national focus, USA Today became well-known for its national polls on public sentiment.

Early on, the initial success of the paper was met with criticism. Many people were hesitant to read a color newspaper and derided it as 'McPaper.' However, the newspaper has striven to set itself apart in distribution methods as well. The paper is still sold in unique newspaper vending machines with curved edges that some say{{weasel-inline}} resemble television sets more than newspaper racks. USA Today was also eager to latch onto the business traveler and was heavily distributed through airlines, airports, and hotels in addition to other sales outlets. The newspaper was also among the first newspapers to use satellite transmissions to send the final edition of the newspaper to multiple locations across the country for printing and final distribution in those regional markets. The innovation of using satellites and regional printing hubs allowed the paper to push back deadlines and include the most recent news and sports scores in each edition.

In 2001, the newspaper moved into its new 30 acre (120,000 m²) headquarters in McLean, Virginia, a Washington, D.C. suburb. Its original headquarters, the old USA Today and Gannett, Inc. "silver towers", are located in the neighborhood of Rosslyn and are a major landmark on the Washington skyline.

In 2006, the USA Today increased its price of a copy from 50 cents to 75 cents per copy.