News

To Endorse, or Not to Endorse

Columbia Journalism Review · Bill Grueskin · last updated

You can make the case that news organizations shouldn’t endorse political candidates (“most people don’t read those columns, and those who do aren’t persuaded by them”). Or you can make the case that endorsements are a noble civic exercise (“our editorial board’s expertise is valuable, and readers should know where we stand”).

What you probably shouldn’t do is declare that you’re stopping endorsements, then turn around and publish a muddled one without explaining why. 

Which is what the New York Times did this week.