# USA Weekend

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American weekend newspaper magazine

USA Weekend USA Weekend cover from October 22, 2006; the top blank bar features a reproduction of the carrying newspaper's masthead. Categories Sunday magazine Frequency Weekly Circulation Distributed to more than 800 newspapers nationwide Founded 1953; 73 years ago (1953) (as Family Weekly) Final issue December 28, 2014; 11 years ago (2014-12-28) Company Gannett Country United States Based in McLean, Virginia Language English Website www.usaweekend.com

***USA Weekend*** was an American [weekend newspaper magazine](/source/Sunday_magazine) published from 1953 to 2014.

Founded as *Family Weekly*, it was purchased in 1985 by the [Gannett Company](/source/Gannett), which turned it into a sister publication to Gannett's flagship newspaper *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)* and distributed it in the Sunday editions of participating local newspapers.[1] At its peak, *USA Weekend* was the country's second-largest national magazine supplement (behind *[Parade](/source/Parade_(magazine))*) and was distributed to more than 800 newspapers nationwide.[2] Gannett ceased publication after the December 28, 2014, issue, citing a decline in print advertising and a company effort to minimize duplicative offerings.[3]

## Overview

The publication was incorporated in 1953 as *Family Weekly*,[2] a [weekend magazine](/source/Sunday_magazine) intended for distribution with newspapers. By the mid-1980s, it was carried in 362 newspapers nationwide for a total circulation of 12.8 million copies, making it the third-largest weekly magazine in the U.S., ranking behind its main competitor *Parade* (owned since 1976 by [Advance Publications](/source/Advance_Publications), which would sell it to [Athlon Media Group](/source/AMG%2FParade) in 2014) and *[TV Guide](/source/TV_Guide)*.

The Gannett Company purchased the magazine from [CBS, Inc.](/source/CBS) on February 21, 1985. After the sale was finalized later that spring, Gannett renamed it *USA Weekend* and designated 1985 as its founding year for promotional purposes and anniversary observances. Most of the newspapers that Gannett owned soon carried *USA Weekend* within their Sunday editions as their default weekend magazine.[4]

*USA Weekend* focused its articles on social issues, entertainment personalities and [pop culture](/source/Pop_culture), health, food reviews and recipes, and travel.[1] In addition to *Parade*,[2][5][6] *USA Weekend* also competed alongside some Sunday magazines published for certain newspapers, such as *[The New York Times Magazine](/source/The_New_York_Times_Magazine)*.[6] The magazine also provided some newspapers with "Newspaper in Education" classroom guides for use by teachers.[7]

### Shutdown

On December 5, 2014, Gannett announced that it would cease publication of *USA Weekend* with the December 26–28, 2014, edition and lay off 30 advertising and editorial staffers.[8][9] The shutdown was reportedly due to mounting distribution costs and a decline in advertising revenue (revenue for Sunday magazines through advertising buys had decreased by 10.9% year-over-year between the first two quarters of 2013 and the first half of 2014. *USA Weekend* lost up to $10 million in operating costs during the 2013 and 2014 fiscal years, which in previous years had resulted in the shift from the carrier newspapers paying a licensing fee to Gannett to publishers of these papers receiving a fee from the company for distributing *USA Weekend* (a structure that had also affected other syndicated Sunday magazines). As well, the supplement's circulation had declined, shrinking from the mid-2000s high of up to 70 million copies distributed through newsstand sales and home-delivery newspaper subscriptions down to around 18 million in 2014. For its final years of publication, the magazine had relied on writers and columnists from *USA Today* to help provide feature content for the magazine, after Gannett laid off several members of *USA Weekend*'s writing staff.[2][8]

The decision to cease publication of the supplement came one year after Gannett began distributing a seven-day-a-week supplement featuring condensed content from *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)* for syndication to the company's own local newspapers as well as partner newspapers owned by other publishers, with company executives said the supplement's *Weekend Life* section provided better content than *USA Weekend*.[2][6][10][11] The end of *USA Weekend* left *Parade* as the only weekend newspaper magazine published in the United States. *Parade*, which had only appeared previously in acquired Gannett newspapers to fulfill contracts with previous owners, has now returned to many Gannett newspapers as a replacement for *USA Weekend*.

## Columns

Columns and contributors featured in *USA Weekend* included:

- *CookSmart* – a recipe column written by [Ellie Krieger](/source/Ellie_Krieger)

- *EatSmart* – a food column by [Jean Carper](/source/Jean_Carper), focusing on healthy recipes and tips

- *HealthSmart* – a health information column written by the hosts of *[The Doctors](/source/The_Doctors_(2008_TV_series))*

- *MoneySmart* – a financial advice column written by [Sharon Epperson](/source/Sharon_Epperson) and Walecia Konrad

- *Who's News* – a column focusing on newsmakers of the past week, written by [Lorrie Lynch](/source/Lorrie_Lynch)

- *Wit&Wisdom* – a feature focusing on humor and insight, written by [Terry Stickels](/source/Terry_Stickels)

Other notable contributors included:

- [Ken Burns](/source/Ken_Burns)

- [Steven V. Roberts](/source/Steven_V._Roberts)

- [Cokie Roberts](/source/Cokie_Roberts)

- [Tavis Smiley](/source/Tavis_Smiley)

## Make a Difference Day

In 1992, *USA Weekend*'s Make a Difference Day created an annual [community service](/source/Community_service) event, held on the fourth Saturday of October.

At the 2013 event, the company gave 14 community groups $10,000 to donate to their local charities.[12]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-portada_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-portada_1-1) ["Gannett Folds USA Weekend Magazine"](http://www.portada-online.com/2014/12/07/gannett-folds-usa-weekend-magazine/). *Portada*. December 7, 2014. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20141228192426/http://www.portada-online.com/2014/12/07/gannett-folds-usa-weekend-magazine/) from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-davis_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-davis_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-davis_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-davis_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-davis_2-4) ["*USA Weekend* Calls It Quits"](http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/briefly/usa-weekend-calls-it-quits/). *[The Davis Enterprise](/source/The_Davis_Enterprise)*. Davis, California. December 28, 2014. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20141228183839/http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/briefly/usa-weekend-calls-it-quits/) from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Yu, Roger (December 5, 2014). ["*USA Today* to End Publication of *USA Weekend*"](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/12/05/usa-weekend-shuts-down/19966253/). *USA Today*. Retrieved September 27, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Family_4-0)** ["Gannett Gets Family Weekly"](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E5DB1239F931A15751C0A963948260). *The New York Times*. February 22, 1985. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240905135744/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/22/business/gannett-gets-family-weekly.html) from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-parade_5-0)** David Brauer (August 19, 2009). ["Star Tribune plans to dump USA Weekend, pick up Parade"](http://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2009/08/star-tribune-plans-dump-usa-weekend-pick-parade). *[MinnPost](/source/MinnPost)*. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nytimes_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nytimes_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-nytimes_6-2) Stuart Elliott (December 11, 2014). ["Consolidation Coming in Sunday Magazines"](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/business/consolidation-coming-in-sunday-magazines.html?_r=0). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240905135625/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/business/consolidation-coming-in-sunday-magazines.html?_r=0) from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nie_7-0)** ["USA WEEKEND's Newspaper in Education Program"](http://partners.usaweekend.com/nie/). *USA Weekend*. Gannett Company. Retrieved December 28, 2014.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-wrap_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-wrap_8-1) Jordan Chariton (December 5, 2014). ["USA Today Shuttering USA Weekend Magazine"](http://www.thewrap.com/usa-today-shuttering-usa-weekend-magazine/). *[The Wrap](/source/The_Wrap)*. The Wrap Media, LLC. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171018151531/https://www.thewrap.com/usa-today-shuttering-usa-weekend-magazine/) from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-last_9-0)** Jim Lenahan (December 24, 2014). ["Last words: USA WEEKEND says goodbye and thanks"](https://www.usatoday.com/story/experience/weekend/lifestyle/2014/12/24/last-words-with-this-issue-goodbye-and-thanks/20432217/). *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)*. Gannett Company. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-mutter_10-0)** Alan D. Mutter (December 5, 2014). ["USA Weekend shuts as costs spike and ads tumble"](http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2014/12/usa-weekend-shuts-as-costs-spike-and.html). *Newsosaur*. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-adweek_11-0)** Emma Bazilian (December 5, 2014). ["USA Today Shutters Weekend Magazine - USA Weekend was the country's second-largest news mag"](http://www.adweek.com/news/press/usa-today-shutters-weekend-magazine-161806). *[Adweek](/source/Adweek)*. [Prometheus Global Media](/source/Prometheus_Global_Media). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240905135637/https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/usa-today-shutters-weekend-magazine-161806/) from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-difference_12-0)** McKenna Grant (April 26, 2013). ["Grassroots volunteers receive national awards in Washington, D.C."](http://www.usaweekend.com/article/20130426/MDDAY/130426001/Grassroots-volunteers-receive-national-awards-Washington-D-C-) *USA Weekend*. Gannett Company. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240905135627/https://www.usatoday.com/) from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

## External links

- [USA Weekend](https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.usaweekend.com/) at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) (archive index)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [USA Weekend](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Weekend) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Weekend?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.