As America approaches its 250th birthday, USA TODAY is reviving a nearly forgotten newspaper tradition with the debut of the “USA TODAY March,” a new Sousa-style composition designed to celebrate journalism, patriotism and community connection. In this E&P Reports vodcast interview — which also features video from the May 15 debut performance of the march — longtime features writer and composer Jim Beckerman and USA TODAY’s Liz Johnson discuss how the project became part of the company’s broader USA 250 initiative and a larger effort to reconnect audiences with journalism’s civic and cultural role beyond the headlines.
For Liz Johnson, Senior Director Entertainment, USA TODAY Network USA TODAY, the project resonated because it tapped into something audiences increasingly crave. “One of the most popular things that readers love is nostalgia, and this is definitely a nostalgic project,” Johnson said. She described the effort as a way of viewing “journalism sort of as patriotism” and “community organization,” adding that the project brought together USA TODAY’s national identity with the strong local-news focus of the USA TODAY Network.
Johnson said leadership ultimately embraced the concept because it allowed the organization to participate in America’s milestone anniversary rather than simply cover it. “They kind of thought about shaping the conversation instead of just reporting on it,” she explained. “So not just going out there and saying, ‘This is the USA’s 250th,’ more about, ‘We’re going to participate in the USA’s 250th, and this is how we’re going to contribute.’”
How a newspaper march came back to life
The idea originated with Beckerman, who began researching John Philip Sousa’s famous “The Washington Post March” several years ago. During that reporting process, he discovered that newspaper marches were once common throughout the country.
“What I found out in researching this is not only was ‘The Washington Post March’ written for The Washington Post, but a scholar I was talking to said, ‘You know that other newspapers had marches too,’” Beckerman recalled. “And I looked into it, and it turned out that there are more than 500 newspaper marches that were written between about 1860 and the present.”
The discovery fascinated Beckerman, who saw an opportunity to revive the tradition in time for the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration. “I thought, ‘Well, you know what? The 250th is coming up, and we don’t have a march, and what the heck? What if I try to do this?’”
Writing the piece required Beckerman to immerse himself in the structure and language of traditional marches. “I really did listen to a lot of Sousa, I have to say, and a lot of other marches as well,” he said. “I kind of had to learn the language of an old march.”
The finished piece includes traditional elements such as multiple strains, trios and even what Beckerman described as a “dogfight,” or “basically instruments getting angry at each other.” But he also introduced a symbolic innovation. “I have two trios playing at the same time contrapuntally,” he explained. “This is kind of like a representation of the two sides of a well-balanced newspaper story.”
Journalism with a human touch
For Johnson, the project also reflects a broader challenge facing modern media organizations in an AI-driven environment increasingly dominated by automation and algorithms.
“In the world of AI, that’s the kind of thing that’s getting rewarded,” Johnson said about emotionally driven storytelling. “We certainly are looking for things that have a personality, things that have a human element to them.”
While she said she embraces AI “in many facets” of her work, Johnson stressed that this project represented something fundamentally different. “This is not one of them,” she said. “I think this is just so perfectly human.”
Beckerman similarly viewed the project through the lens of classic newspaper experimentation. He described the effort as “an old-fashioned stunt assignment,” comparing it to the work of George Plimpton and Nellie Bly. “What’s the good of a gag if you don’t go all the way?” Beckerman joked, referring to his decision to not only write the march but also attempt to conduct it publicly on July 4 despite never having conducted an orchestra before.
The project intentionally embraced imperfection and vulnerability. Johnson playfully noted during the interview that “Jim can’t even read music,” prompting Beckerman to clarify, “I can read music a little bit, but I’m not a proficient sight reader, for sure.”
A patriotic role for journalism
Beyond the novelty, both Johnson and Beckerman believe the march carries a deeper message about journalism’s civic purpose during a polarized era.
“I think it’s really important for people to understand that journalism is patriotic,” Beckerman said. Referencing Thomas Jefferson’s famous quote about newspapers and government, he argued that journalism still serves an essential democratic function. “Newspapers have an important role to play and a patriotic role to play, maybe now more than ever.”
Beckerman was especially struck by the fact that many historical newspaper marches were not commissioned by publishers themselves. “People from the community — band leaders and piano teachers and so on — would write them as a tribute to their local newspaper because they loved the newspaper and they thought that journalism was important,” he said.
Johnson hopes the “USA TODAY March” eventually becomes woven into community traditions across the country. “What if local high school bands played it?” she asked. “We could play this march when we’re honoring our local athletes and sort of just bring this back to the original way it was meant to be — celebrating the newspaper and celebrating the people who read the newspaper and are part of that community.”
And according to Beckerman, the march may linger with audiences longer than expected. “The conductor assures me that this march is an earworm,” he said with a laugh. “It’s true.”
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