12 major newspapers endorse Obama today
- added October 13, 2008
- 112 responses
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- pigmonkey
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The Wisconsin State Journal and The Sun of San Bernardino had backed Bush in 2004. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called Obama's opponent, John McCain, "the incredible shrinking man" who had made a horrific pick for his running mate.
Backing Obama: In Ohio, The Blade in Toledo and the Dayton Daily News; the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Tennessean of Nashville, the Wisconsin State Journal. the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times, and in California the Fresno Bee, Sacramento Bee, Contra Costa Times, The Herald of Monterrey, and The Sun of San Bernardino (which had picked Bush over Kerry).
E&P is charting every endorsement and the circulation size of each paper (see new chart on Monday). So far Obama leads by a 21-9 margin with at least 300 to go. Send us any pick you see, to: gmitchell@editorandpublisher.com
For more, and links, go to our new blog:
The E&P Pub
Here are excerpts from some of the papers.
SACRAMENTO BEE
For voters pondering the presidential election, there is one key question: Is John McCain or Barack Obama better suited to lead this country in a time of great uncertainty?
The terms of the question help reveal the answer. In this election, Americans are picking a future, not a past. That makes Barack Obama the better choice for president of the United States.
By electing Obama, voters will make a clear break from the policies of the past eight years.
POST-DISPATCH:
Over the past nine months, Mr. Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has emerged as the only truly transformative candidate in the race. In the crucible that is a presidential campaign, his intellect, his temperament and equanimity under pressure consistently have been impressive. He has surrounded himself with smart, capable advisers who have helped him refine thorough, nuanced policy positions.
In a word, Mr. Obama has been presidential.
Meanwhile, Mr. McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, became the incredible shrinking man. He shrank from his principled stands in favor of a humane immigration policy. He shrank from his universalcondemnation of torture and his condemnation of the politics of smear.
He even shrank from his own campaign slogan, "County First," by selecting the least qualified running mate since the Swedenborgian shipbuilder Arthur Sewall ran as William Jennings Bryan's No. 2 in 1896.
In making political endorsements, this editorial page is guided first by the principles espoused by Joseph Pulitzer in The Post-Dispatch Platform printed daily at the top of this page. Then we consider questions of character, life experience and intellect, as well as specific policy and issue positions. Each member of the editorial board weighs in.
On all counts, the consensus was clear: Barack Obama of Illinois should be the next president of the United States....
John McCain has served his country well, but in the end, he may have wanted the presidency a little too much, so much that he has sacrificed some of the principles that made him a heroic figure in war and in peace. In every way possible, he has earned the right to retire.
Finally, only at this late point do we note that Barack Obama is an African-American. Because of who he is and how he has run his campaign, that fact has become almost incidental to most Americans. Instead, his countrymen are weighing his talents, his values and his
beliefs, judging him not by the color of his skin, but the content of his character.
That says something profound and good — about him as a candidate and about us as a nation
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Is it just me or there something just not right about newspapers endorsing candidates? I'm all for obama but i would rather newspapers relate the candidates stances and voting records to try and make that relevant to the people.
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Get out your snowshoes the avalanche is coming.
If your a Republican, don't take your lunch to work.
My son in Iraq prays that McCain loses. He doesn't want to spend a hundred years in a foreign country.
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- Picasso9000
- 1 month ago
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And this is important because.......
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As much as I want Obama to win, truth be told, with racism spilling over the US landscape, I truly fear for his life.
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newspapers shouldn't be endorsing anybody, this is just one more example of the media pushing its own agenda
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At least they admit it.
An admitted sway to the left or the right in print; ask yourselves why television does not follow suit. Theres nothing wrong with endorsements, in fact I'd rather have this than false "no spin zone" or "we report you decide" style coverage.
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I wonder if Sarah Palin reads any of these papers.
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Newspapers is only part of the media,it can have its positives and negatives, but don't really depend on the media, such as newspapers, because it won't be true all the time, especailly in a time like this.....
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- metalcookiesxy70
- 1 month ago
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Really people, who reads a newspaper anymore?
Maybe on a plane
Maybe at a holiday Inn, because the USA todays' are free.
Maybe when you run out of T.P.
Maybe while you paper mache a pinata
Maybe while you wrap your glassware when moving
Maybe when you light kindlin wood to start a fire.
Who has the time. . .
God bless america
God bless Big oil -
The papers are still the number 1 way to advertise. I just want to ad this one thing.<<<<VOTE DEMOCRAT>>>>
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- GRIPEABOUTSTRIPES
- 1 month ago
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your so cute, and so angry
simmah down, nah
God bless america
God bless big oil -
If Obama doesn't win with this kind of popularity, there is something terribly wrong with the American electoral system.
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this really pisses me off.....new sources are supposed to stay neutral. endorsement just lets you know those papers are biased and not going to be giving people the facts fairly. funny how there isnt a huge uproar of this but when tina fey endorsed hillary (and not even endorsed so much as pointed out how stupid the obama supporters attacks against her were) on SNL when she hosted everyone flipped a bitch.
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- SilenceNoMore
- 1 month ago
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I always assumed media sources were supposed to at least pretend to be unbiased... guess not.
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Many people seem not to understand how newspaper endorsements work, so I'll repeat something from above.
Most newspapers have editorial boards that endorse and it is kept separate from the reporters. Papers like the Washington Post have neocons doing the editorials but have excellent, Pulitzer-prize winning reporting in the rest of the paper.
It is not inappropriate for newspapers to endorse. What is inappropriate is when the editorial component begins to control the reporting component (see the New York Post and, increasingly, the Wall Street Journal).
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Wild! I didn't even know papers could endorse candidates. I mean we all know the slants and who's for who (NY Times, Obama, WSJ, McCain) but I never knew they could outright endorse.
I'm a die hard OBAMA supporter, but I agree with a few others in saying that media outlets should be unbiased and objective. I think this is going to turn more voters OFF to the process than ON. And I think this plays better to the GOP and the idea that "The media is tilted to the Left", which they played to some success early on in the race.
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I don't really like the endorsements either. In an effort to find our why they do it, I found the following:
From "Ideas & Trends: Taking a Stand; Why Newspapers Endorse Candidates", by Felicity Barringer; Published: November 5, 2000.
"[E]ditors are likely to see an endorsement as a statement of the paper's identity and a sign of its willingness to be part of the community, relying on readers to understand that editorial writers have nothing to do with the newsroom, and vice versa. Howell Raines, editor of the editorial page at The New York Times, said: 'A candidate endorsement is not an attempt to dictate to the reader what he ought to do. It's more a reflection of our feeling that we have an obligation to be part of the civic dialogue. We have a specific obligation to our readers to let them know what our collective wisdom is.' "
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E3D91439F936A35752C1A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=allIn 2006, the Connecticut Post issued the following explanation for their endorsements:
"Our endorsements are not made with political bias, but with what the board members perceive would be best for our communities and state. We talk to the candidates, we research their records and we examine their leadership abilities.Here are reasons why we endorse:
* to fulfill our obligation and responsibility as a constitutionally-protected media enterprise to not only be a part of our communities but to also help improve those communities.
* to offer information and perspective that voters can use in evaluating candidates.
* to create dialogue with our readers.
Our endorsements are not made:
* to tell readers who they should vote for.
* to make a compact with any candidate.
* to figure out who's most likely to win a contest.
Most major newspapers in America endorse political candidates. Some major media outlets have experimented with not making endorsements, but even most of those have returned to the practice because they felt the responsibility to inform their communities."
http://www.connpost.com/stephenwinters/ci_4570440 -
I am so sick of the biased media....they are supposed to report the facts. Good reason to still not get the newspaper.
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Far better that a newspaper gives its endorsement clearly one way or the other, than one that says that it is impartial but all the time being subtley biased. But as many have said above just saying that the editorial board of this newspaper supports one or the other is pointless if they do not give good clear reasons and arguments why. Then you can make up your mind to agree or disagree. Freedom of the press is as important as free speech in a democratic society.
The easiest way for a newspaper to lose readers is to try and deceive them, lie to them, distort the facts or insult their intelligence. Same goes for TV/radio stations, web sites and all other media too. Remember too that newspapers are part of the free market - if people dont like it they wont buy it so endorsing something can lead to lost readers / advertisers etc. The power lies with the consumer because if they dont buy or turn off then it will fail.
Oh and newspaper is made from almost all recycled paper - it would not be cost effective to print a newspaper on paper made from 100% wood pulp..
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nobamajon attacks himself? This is a first!
"Newspapers are obsolete just like 1960's Liberal Politics. A waste of good trees."
(a comment to which he responds below...)
"You truly are a very little puke."
Not a good day in Oregon I guess.
FOX Noise? A waste of good electrons!
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- AveryMoore
- 1 month ago
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I read a number of the responses regarding the newspapers and the fact that they should remain neutral. Please be aware that each of these newspapers' endorsements come from the Editorial staff, not the reporters. The Editorial section is where select newspaper staff members actually DO provide opinions about a wide range of topics. The endorsement is not by the newspaper per se. The endorsement is by the editorial staff. This has been going on for many years.
Now, I think it's wonderful that Barack Obama has been endorsed by so many. I am an Obama supporter. While I cannot say I agree with everything he says and does, I do agree with his position on most issues.
Regardless of who wins this election, that president has a very difficult task ahead of them. Let us all pray to whatever deity we worship that we, meaning the world, really, because our economy is not just ours anymore, are able to get ourselves out of this economic quagmire.
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- blue189822
- 1 month ago
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cool i thing barako obama is on the verge of being the new america prsident, he is a man who goes straight to the point.
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I remember reading an editor's note or column in an issue of Newsweek, about the magazine's policy to never endorse candidates. But I think it was inside a larger column -- or I'm mixing the two up; I can't remember -- about appealing to a younger generation of readers in an era of dying print media.
Anyway, I tried to find that Newsweek column, because its take on bias was interesting, but instead I found http://preview.tinyurl.com/4ncgkq -- a Market Watch op/ed, "Newsweek and Time Should Endorse Candidates." What? Really? Jon Friedman writes:
"Time and Newsweek need to come up with compelling reasons for us to read them. I can think of one: Endorse a presidential candidate. It's a way to attract interest in a positive way and help to create a buzz. The two magazines have been in heated competition for so long that they may have lost sight of the battle for young readers."
So there you have it. Bias aside, in an age when most information is available faster online, endorsing a candidate is one of the last remaining ways for a print outlet to remain relevant.
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That jerk is only gonna win because the color of his skin and what the media tells people.
Just like how MTV killed REAL music and now whatever crappy stuff they play is the "hot" music to buy/listen to
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Newspapers have endorsed candidates since the beginning of time. I find that preferable to running stories that endorse someone under cover of impartiality.
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- Marilynn_Murray
- 1 month ago
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