USA TODAY turns 40: Celebrating 40 moments that mattered most to our newspaper

Coming up with a Top 40 in the era of Everything Goes Viral can only spark endless arguments and “whataboutism.”

But everyone loves round numbers, and USA TODAY’s 40th anniversary – remember, some predicted it would not last 40 weeks – should not be ignored. And what better way to celebrate than highlighting 40 moments to mark our anniversary on Sept. 15?

How to do it? We did not want simply an almanac-type list of the 40 biggest stories over four tumultuous decades. Even using circulation figures (old metric) or pageviews (new), measuring journalism goes beyond audience, although (a nod to reality), audience is always nice.

No, the best way to measure journalism, we decided, was by its impact. Did our reporting change things for the better? Hold people accountable? Right hidden wrongs? Or sometimes bring a smile? Was our writing memorable, our photography compelling, our graphics fact-filled?

And did USA TODAY’s brash new way to deliver the news – short and to the point with lots of entry points and color – mark an inflection point for the newspaper industry that at first rejected us? Or did it, as some smartly think, serve as a template for the internet?

Impact seemed a better way to go. So this will not be a listing of the biggest events of the past 40 years, although USA TODAY did cover seven presidents (from Reagan to Biden), three impeachments (Clinton and Trump twice, all acquitted), the 9/11 terror attacks and ensuing wars, along with 21 Olympics, 39 Super Bowls, several recessions, the death of the King of Pop (Michael Jackson), a princess (Diana), and one Trial of the Century (O.J. Simpson).

What became apparent as we flipped through 480 months of news was how often USA TODAY made a difference:

TV ads during the Super Bowl were becoming big business, but were they effective? We brought political focus group thinking to coverage, unveiling the USA TODAY Super Bowl Ad Meter at Super Bowl XXIII in 1989. Now an online perennial, it has been a part of the Big Game ever since.

From the start, USA TODAY pushed for diversity, within its newsrooms and in the culture. An examination of Supreme Court clerks in 1998 found only 2% were Black; entertainment reporters in 2016 revealed that movies and TV shows continued to fail at representing minorities, in front of or behind the cameras.

Want impact? Our coverage in 1998 of how dangerous air bags were to children sitting in front seats, helped lead to the warning sticker now found inside car windshield visors. In 2014, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress he learned about better ways to protect U.S. troops from roadside bombs from USA TODAY.

We offered unprecedented looks at the inner games of sports – annual looks at how much college coaches were paid, the lack of diversity of NFL coaches, expanded baseball statistics and every Olympics event every day. We also opened up the world of high school sports, even naming high school athletes of the year. (A shortstop from Kalamazoo

Michigan, Derek Jeter, was high school player of the year in 1992.)

And we had fun. One reporter, Tim Friend, visited the Titanic and climbed Mount Everest. Another, former Life editor Alison Maxwell, co-hosted an episode of "Project Runway." Music critic Edna Gunderson was on a first-name basis with Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. And the late Olivia Barker was offered the chance to be a Miss America contestant and bravely wrote about it.

Through the 40 years, USA TODAY has grown, evolving from print-bound features and focusing instead on videos, interactives and its growing website, routinely among the top news sites with 100 million monthly visitors. 

What follows are 40 moments, chosen by dozens of current and former staffers, when USA TODAY made a difference to our readers, our nation or to our staff.

What follows are 40 moments, chosen by dozens of current and former staffers, when USA TODAY made a difference to our readers, our nation or to our staff.