Endorsements

Endorsements by retired generals and secretaries of state make sense. What I don't understand is why newspapers endorse candidates and propositions. I further don't understand why, if the "news" outlets like newspapers advocate officially for particular candidates and propositions, that we still assume that what they present on political issue is still fairly presented news. Talk radio is upfront in identifying what perspective they are coming from, be that right or left. However, newspapers attempt to position themselves are reporting the news, then on the heels of that assertion put their names behind a particular cause.

I think that they misunderstand their role in our society, or perhaps we have mistaken that place (For a brief history you can look here). Not all papers make such endorsements, but those who do defy my imagination that they believe that we should assume that their reporting will not be swayed by what the editorial board has endorsed. In an election where the media coverage of the candidates comes to us from both a news and an entertainment perspective, the endorsement of newspapers only complicates matter. The news media is hard enough to trust and believe without them talking out of both sides of their mouths endorsing a candidate and not really advocating for him or her.