An evolution of "News You Can Use"

Avery Comarow, who edited the “News You Can Use” section of U.S. News & World Report magazine from 1987 to 1998, writes in the magazine’s 75th anniversary edition about how it evolved into a personal finance section.

Comarow writes, “Mortimer Zuckerman’s purchase of the magazine in 1984 provided an opportunity. An expanded “News You Can Use” section would survey health, personal finance, travel, technology, and careers with energy and imagination. ‘Not fluff and showbiz and gossip but stuff you can really use,’ then Managing Editor Peter Bernstein recalls arguing. The idea was to create a different identity for the magazine.

“The notion didn’t go down easily. “Real journalists don’t do ‘News You Can Use,’ Bernstein recalls some editors saying. ‘Cordless power towls?’ Editor David Gergen asked incredulously when a story on the new devices was proposed a few years later. ‘Who would want to read about cordless power tools?’ Besides, critics argued, a new section would siphon off pages from domestic and foreign news. But the ‘News You Can Use’ section was approved, kicking off in 1987 with a survivor’s guide to singlehood — ‘Living Alone and Learning to Love It.’

“Consumer journalism is like cheese — easy to do, but, as evidenced by the old newsletter, hard to do well. Yet the magazine managed to turn out useful stories that were also timely, deeply reported, and fun to read.”