Paper Party

By Laurence Zuckerman

Five years after USA Today printed its first issue, the rainbow-hued national paper is still glowin', still crowin' and, according to its owner, finally goin' strong.

A mix of upbeat news, demographic surveys, light features and helpful hints, USA Today enjoys a circulation of 1.5 million (including 15% sold at a discount to hotels and airlines), making it the country's second largest daily (No. 1: the Wall Street Journal, with 2 million).After suffering more than $450 million in operating losses, the Gannett Co. announced that USA Today turned a $1 million profit last May. The red ink reappeared during the summer, but the wealthy media conglomerate is still declaring victory. "USA Today is established to the point where even we cannot screw it up," says Allen Neuharth, Gannett chairman.

Neuharth did not help the company's balance sheet last month when he staged lavish fifth-anniversary parties in six cities, including a star-studded Los Angeles bash with Actress Angie Dickinson and Author Jackie Collins. Next project: a weekday half-hour television version of USA Today, scheduled to debut next fall.

Many editors who once scorned the paper are now grudging admirers, pointing to such USA Today contributions as:

-- Sprightly graphics and color weather maps.

-- Statistics-crammed sports coverage.

-- Little boxes like these ticking off lists like this one.

Critics still fault the paper's superficiality. Responds Editor John Quinn: "We're not attempting to be the encyclopedia."

With reporting by Naushad S. Mehta/New York