"Low end mcpapers". That's what you're calling the USA Today circa 2000? Interesting.
Yes. The very term "McPaper" was coined to describe USA Today. It pioneered presenting the news the way that McDonalds presents food -- cheap, quick, highly processed, and relatively devoid of any nutrition.... aimed at the lowest common denominator. Before social media came around, with its celebrity "news" fixation, listicles, and over-simplified rendition of stories, that was USA Today's stock in trade.