Endorse Here
The Chicago Sun-Times announced last week that it would no longer be endorsing candidates for political office.
The paper, which is under new ownership, will continue to issue questionnaires and interview candidates. It just won’t officially pick sides.
The Sun-Times editorial page offered a number of reasons behind the change:
- The multitude of information sources today allow even a casual voter to be better informed than ever before.
- Research on the matter suggests that editorial endorsements don’t change many votes.
- Candidate endorsements promote the perception of a hidden bias by a newspaper.
The news had KSA buzzing. Some KSA team members thought the Sun-Times’ new policy was a step in the right direction, and would ensure greater transparency. “How can a paper endorse one political candidate over another, and then claim to cover an election without bias?” they asked.
Others thought the Sun-Times was making a mistake, and doing readers and voters a disservice. “If newspaper editorial boards don’t ask the tough questions and vet candidates, who else would – or even could – play that role?” they wondered.
And might the decision ultimately marginalize the Sun-Times when it comes to future elections? After all, candidates may decide it’s not worth the trouble of answering the paper’s questionnaires and meeting with its editorial board if there’s no prize to be won.
What do you think?
- Tim Frisbie
