When Forrest goes to see Jenny in her apartment , she shows him newspaper clippings of him running across America.One of the clippings is from USA Today , but it wasn't published at that time.
i was always confused as to the timeline by the end of the movie. i thought that it took place nowadays but that would have made forrest about 10-15 years older. so then i figured that maybe it was the 80's by the end. when was USA today published??
O.K. , on Jenny's gravestone is a date of death of March 22 , 1982. When Forrest goes to Jenny's apartment ( where he meets little Forrest ), Jenny shows Forrest newspaper clippings from his running days. If you look at the clipping it is definitely from USA Today ( the op-ed page , where 'everyday' people are giving their opinions on a subject ), and also underneath it in orange ink is written in Jenny's hanwriting 'USA Today 1978'. USA Today first published in 1982 , not sure which month. Source is Wikpedia.com