There may have been a time in history when newspaper endorsements mattered. Maybe because news travelled slowly and people relied on a trusted source. Maybe newspaper endorsements were more useful in a time when newspapers were more partisan.
This world we live in now has 24 hour news channels and the internet. So, you know, you can pretty much find whatever you’re looking for, whenever you want to search. So, what is the reason for newspaper endorsements? Does an endorsement really make a difference? I would argue certainly not.
My adopted home newspaper, a conservative paper that endorsed President Obama in 2008, recently endorsed Governor Mitt Romney. My problem is not that the Orlando Sentinel endorsed Governor Romney. My issue is that I don’t believe newspaper should be in the endorsement business.
Newspapers should provide the news and, sure, provide commentary as well. But, I don’t believe newspapers should be telling me who the next president should be. Feel free to print editorial and op-eds but don’t tell me, as a newspaper organization, who the next president should be. There are plenty of places I can go to have someone tell me what to think, what to believe and how to vote.
Naive? Maybe. But, I’m also quite the eternal optimist.
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