The USA today is one of the oldest news sources in America. The paper operates as a flagship operation of its parent company Gannett Company. It was in late 1982 and is currently being printed at thirty-seven different site across the United States. The paper has five additional printing stations internationally where it prints its international papers. The paper has managed to stand out through the use of a dynamic design that stands out from other newspapers. USA Today uses concise reporting coupled with colourized images and graphics to pass its information to its readers. The newspaper combines America’s pop culture among other distinct features in developing and enticing their readership. Currently, the newspaper serves over fifty states in America and goes as far Colombia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Asia, the Pacific Islands and Europe. It has a readership of over three million daily print copy readers as well as another twenty-two million subscribers for its online readers. The manner in which the newspaper has been reporting their news has had a significant influence on how its readers perceive America to be. The newspapers articles portray the American pop culture to be one of the best in the world with America being the answer to the world's problems. The newspaper has somehow managed to convince it readers of the country super power and the belief that anything can happen in America.
The newspaper uses headlines and words that are easily understandable to its readers. The headlines in the newspaper are straight to the point and address a particular issue in detail. One such headline can be found on the newspaper's issue of January 13, 2017, where on headline reads "Trumps Cabinet of Disrupters Ready to go." Just from the headline one can derive the meaning without having to read the whole article. The choice of words used in the newspaper is self-explanatory making it easy for the readers to understand what they are about to read. Another headline of the same issue reads "Bidden Awarded Medal of Freedom." This is also another self-explanatory headline where one can derive the writer's intentions before even reading the newspaper. The newspaper makes their works easy to understand as they understand the disruption that has been caused by visual forms of news presentations. According to Postman (2010), the print culture started to be replaced by electronic media. This was majorly attributed to the need of speed the need to pass information as fast as possible and in a manner that is easily understandable. Electronic media achieved this through the use of visuals which enabled one to easily see what was being talked about. For this reason, newspapers including the USA Today had to improvise means with which to pass their information without having to indulge their readers in reading too much. The USA Today is at the forefront when it comes to giving information fast as they implemented the use of direct words that would help users understand their message easily. Electronic media meant that information was being passed faster, with quality and novelty. For newspapers to survive this, they had to ensure that they match the capabilities of what electronic media brought on board.
The headlines in the USA Today portray America in a better light compared to how the same newspaper refers to other countries within the globe. This has ensured that the newspaper reader sees America as a country without issues that need to be addressed while at the same time letting them know of how bad other countries are suffering. The paper has managed to fuse political commentary of the country with lifestyle matters that happen within the country. Rare would the paper have political commentary without some sections of the headlines referring to lifestyle and the pop culture that Americans have come to be accustomed to. This has continually shaped and portrayed America as a fun place to be where politics is not a burning issue. The USA today has managed to let their readers believe that life is not all about politics and that there is much more to life than politics. Headlines such as "College Student has a heart attack during game or Revenge weekend how NFL division rematches shape up” will grace the front pages of the newspaper. This gives people the false indication of what is exactly going on around them as the newspaper does not necessarily tackle real life issues affecting Americans.
The introduction of electronic media also ensured that the newspapers adopt the use of visuals to present their messages. In America, there is no newspaper that rivals USA Today in the use of images in broadcasting its message. Almost every headline in the paper is accompanied by an image that matches what the headline say. The image is more than enough to tell the reader exactly what the reader wants to know. In one headline on USA Today, the headline read Obama ends wet foot, dry foot policy. Accompanying the headline was a picture of Cubans on a boat in the middle of a water body. Anyone who is accustomed to the wet foot and dry foot policy could immediately read derive meaning out of the headline and the picture without having to read the text written about the policy. USA Today prefers the use of clear images while passing out their message. This is different to other average newspapers who would match an image with the face of a subject within the article. In using images, USA Today has managed to show the better part of America and its success. Rarely would one find images of dilapidated parts of America in the newspaper.
Almost all the images relating to America's stories show a world of peace and prosperity. However, this is not the case when the newspaper refers to other countries especially those in Africa and the Middle East. The images showcasing these parts are often images that present a word bordering on constant chaos. American readers who are subjected to constant news about the beauty of their country eventually end up believing that their country is free of other worldly problems like crime and poverty. Culture comes to know itself through the use of images that consistently show these cultures (Postman, 2010). The way the newspaper has managed to depict America has become a measure of every other culture Americans would want to associate with. They look at the images on the newspaper and see this well made-up world where politics is a non-issue and that America is the best place one can desire to leave. In as much as electronic media is taking over and currently determining the course of politics, economy and religion, print media like the USA Today have not been left behind as they have adopted the efficient use of images within their paper. USA Today has successfully used images to replace reality where currently manipulation and showmanship has replaced authentic leadership. The images on the newspapers coupled with their appetite for pop news has managed to mould the thinking of its readers and ensured that they give their readers a false sense of security.
The USA Today through their reporting over the years of its existence, has shaped the thinking of its readers to believe that political problems are small matters that can be solved fast using simple solutions. Their use of photographed images and simple headlines has continuously fed Americans with a false image of their country's political and economic atmosphere. One such indication is the president-elect cabinet selection where the paper casually states that the selected members are ready to disrupt the normal political operation. In as much as such heading give meaning to what is being talked about it does not elaborate on the devastating effect such disruption might cause. The newspaper has consistently exposed America to good news about their country to an extent where the readers now believe their country is free of the problems being experienced in other countries. The consistent messages about lifestyle and the American pop culture have raised the expectations of the readers of the newspaper about social life without considering exactly what is happening in real life. The paper has managed to shelve the real problems facing Americans with its reporting having few shades of real matters on the ground. Even in such moment, the newspaper cannot resist having heroes of the story being told. It is through such reporting that Postman believes that most American institution has been trivialised making every matter seem like an entertainment piece even the serious one.
USA Today has captured entertainment in its newspaper through the use of graphic images. Like with other average newspapers, USA Today in keeping up with electronic media have adopted widespread use of graphics to add some form of entertainment in their newspaper. The graphics are used to attract the reader to the paper capturing their attention. The newspapers have adopted the use of shorter stories with more focus being placed on novelty and imagery and graphics. This has resulted to the newspaper readers to be more entertained than being informed on the matter. Initially, when print media was introduced American's used to be well educated as they had to read for them to stay informed. However, this has changed over the years with the introduction of electronic media. Electronic media pushed print media to use excess graphics and images leading to the media losing its touch of nurturing a generation of critical readers and thinkers (Postman, 2010). Today readers are subjected to endless graphic and images on the newspaper that appeal to their hopes, dreams and fantasies without passing any meaningful message. This has disrupted the early capitalist expectation in which information was a vital aspect in conducting any business. Apart from capitalist system taking a hit, the political landscape has also been affected by the use of graphic images. Readers of USA Today just like any other paper do not get the whole information about a political candidate as it used to be. Today a political candidate goal is to showcase themselves in speeches and debate and appeal to the electorate emotions. Most political adverts on newspapers are not meant to pass information but rather they are structured in a graphical manner that makes them appeal emotionally to the electorate. The use of graphics has been detrimental to the readers of USA Today as what they see and read is not the real representation of the truth. Over-reliance on reading the newspapers has given most Americans false reality about their country.
Just like every other news media, the USA Today has played a critical part in shaping the way its readers view America. Its use of simple and easily understandable English language has made it easy for the newspaper to appeal to a wide range of people across the globe. One does not have to be a native English speaker to read the paper. However the illusion the paper has created about America is a questionable one. Credit has to be given to the paper on how they have successfully managed to fuse political commentary to lifestyle and sports commentary. The paper is commonly known for its pop culture showcasing America as a great nation where anything entertaining is found. However, the paper has failed on its intended intention of informing its readers of the actual events that are happening and why they are happening. The introduction of electronic media has not helped the paper to achieve its objective of informing the public. In fact, electronic media has pushed the paper to limit the use of words and settle on the use of more images and graphics. These images have proven to be agents of false information as they portray only one side of the story. USA Today has successfully used images to pass its information, but they have been careful only to use American images that show the best side of the country. In doing this, the newspaper has been able to present to its readers the extravagant well-choreographed lifestyle of America making the country look like it does not experience any problems.
References
Inc, N. (2017). USA TODAY. Retrieved January 13, 2017, from http://usatoday.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
Postman, N. (2010). Amusing ourselves to death (24th ed.). Ashland, Or.: Blackstone Audiobooks.
