TV & VIDEO - Sept. 15, 1988

Speaking of the TV version of “USA Today,” just how did USA Today the newspaper cover the show’s debut? Page Three of the Life section, which was flagged on the first page of the section, offered “The Word on USA Today”: “Respectable viewership but not much respect from the critics.” MacPaper said MacShow did best in Washington, Seattle and Houston, worst in Los Angeles. The paper noted that TV critics from the Chicago Tribune’s Clifford Terry to the Washington Post’s Tom Shales “took the show’s style and content to task.” But, the paper reported, many station managers “seemed optimistic” about the show’s future.