Did you know that the Courier News of Bridgewater played a major role in the rollout and progress of USA Today? I’m going by memory on some of this, so I stand corrected if there are a few holes. USA today – the nation’s largest newspaper – was founded 25 years ago, largely through the efforts of Allen Neuharth, a self-labeled S.O.B. according to his 1989 autobiography, Confessions of an S.O.B.!
What I now recollect from Neuharth’s book is the classification of his corporate opponents as “good S.O.B.s” and “bad S.O.B.s.” The former, he wrote, worked to obstruct his progress in establishing USA Today but were not particularly mean, while the latter pursued the same purpose, but were malicious, not to be trusted, and had to be watched closely.
If I remember accurately, Bridgewater’s Courier News facility was a prime founding contributor in the publication of USA Today, the nation’s first newspaper to offer color on a wide scale, while keeping stories short and not referring readers to an interior newspaper page for story continuation. Both newspapers are part of the Gannett media organization.
Additionally, the Courier News became an executive feeder source for future USA Today top executives. In the early days, for example, there was Tom Curley, Courier News publisher in 1983-1985; and Ken Paulson, who was managing editor of the C-N in 1980-1984. Both rose to prominent positions at USA Today. Later, a few other people also followed their path from Bridgewater, N. J., to USA Today’s headquarters in the Washington, D.C. suburbs.
That newspaper now has a circulation of about 2.3 million. With printing locations throughout the U.S. and abroad, it also boasts one of the print media’s most popular web sites.
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