USA Today, Gannett papers won’t endorse 2024 presidential candidate

[Jack]

IN A SURPRISING MOVE THIS ELECTION SEASON, MORE THAN 200 PUBLICATIONS UNDER THE GANNETT UMBRELLA, INCLUDING USA TODAY, ANNOUNCED THEY WILL NOT ENDORSE ANY PRESIDENTIAL OR NATIONAL CANDIDATES. THIS DECISION ALIGNS WITH A MOVE SEEN IN OTHER MAJOR OUTLETS, SUCH AS THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THAT ARE SHIFTING AWAY FROM DIRECT CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS.

‘USA TODAY NETWORK,’ WHICH GANNETT DESCRIBES AS THE “LARGEST LOCAL-TO-NATIONAL PUBLISHING AND DIGITAL MEDIA ORGANIZATION IN THE COUNTRY,” WILL NOT SUPPORT ANY CANDIDATE IN THIS YEAR’S PRESIDENTIAL RACE. THE COMPANY CLARIFIED, HOWEVER, THAT EDITORS AT GANNETT’S LOCAL OUTLETS CAN CHOOSE TO ENDORSE STATE AND LOCAL CANDIDATES OR BALLOT ISSUES. ACCORDING TO USA TODAY, THE AIM IS TO KEEP THE FOCUS ON INFORMING LOCAL COMMUNITIES.

HISTORICALLY, NEWSPAPERS LIKE THE NEW YORK TIMES AND THE WASHINGTON POST HAVE ENDORSED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. ENDORSEMENTS FROM THESE MAJOR PUBLICATIONS HAVE IN THE PAST BEEN VIEWED AS INFLUENTIAL FOR VOTERS. HOWEVER, IN RECENT YEARS, SOME PUBLICATIONS HAVE RECONSIDERED THEIR ROLES IN POLITICAL ENDORSEMENT. 

IN FACT, THE WASHINGTON POST ALSO DECLINED TO ENDORSE IN 2024, REPORTEDLY LOSING OVER 200,000 DIGITAL SUBSCRIBERS SINCE THAT DECISION, REFLECTING HOW DIVISIVE ENDORSEMENTS CAN BE IN TODAY’S MEDIA LANDSCAPE. 

IN RESPONSE TO THIS CONTROVERSIAL CHOICE, WASHINGTON POST OWNER JEFF BEZOS PENNED A NINE-PARAGRAPH NOTE TITLED ‘THE HARD TRUTH… AMERICANS DON’T TRUST THE NEWS MEDIA,’ WHERE HE STATED:

Jeff Bezos. Owner, The Washington Post

“Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election….

What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one,”

AS GANNETT AND OTHER OUTLETS SCALE BACK ON NATIONAL ENDORSEMENTS, READERS CAN STILL EXPECT COVERAGE ON CRITICAL ISSUES AND INSIGHTS AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS. THE SHIFT IN MEDIA FOCUS AIMS TO PUT THE POWER OF CHOICE IN THE HANDS OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES RATHER THAN FROM THE TOP OF THE EDITORIAL CHAIN.

FOR MORE UNBIASED UPDATES AND STRAIGHT FACTS… DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP OR VISIT SAN DOT COM.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M JACK AYLMER.