What is worth knowing about the decisions of the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times not to support a presidential candidate

They say the Post newsroom be in confusion. Ann Telnaes, editorial cartoonist for The Post, drew a devastating indictment The Post’s motto: “Democracy dies in darkness.” The cartoon was a black rectangle with only inky brushstrokes visible. Both newspapers have it lost subscribers following the endorsement controversy.

Former Washington Post editor-in-chief Marty Baron, who worked for Bezos during the first Trump administration (and was previously editor-in-chief of the Globe) he criticized the newspaper’s decision on social mediacalling it “cowardice of which democracy is the victim.” Baron, who was also a former editor of the Boston Globe, told Globe media reporter Aidan Ryan that “the pillars of democracy, particularly media institutions, you have to stand up for what is right“

Former New York Times editor-in-chief Jill Abramson, who now teaches at Northeastern University, called the decision “cowardly and cowardly.” in an opinion piece for The Globe.. “This is journalism’s most important mission: to hold power accountable and give people the information they need to make important decisions,” she wrote. “Casting a vote for president certainly qualifies as one of those decisions.”

It was written by former Globe editor Brian McGrory, now chairman of the journalism department at Boston University Email should change its password from “Democracy Dies in Darkness” to “Reputations Are Ruined in Silence.”

New York Times – “Times”. has a view from the inside about how the Post’s decision came about, starting in late September, when the paper’s top news and opinion leaders first learned that Bezos was cooling off at the thought of endorsing the president. It happened during a work visit to Bezos’s sprawling home on an exclusive island in Biscayne Bay. During discussions about the newspaper’s opinion section, it became clear that Bezos had reservations about giving the endorsement. But the editors thought he could be persuaded.

NPR- Media correspondent David Folkenflik says the decisions to withhold endorsements have raised concerns that news outlets “they preventively self-censor their relationships”, which could offend former President Donald Trump. Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of the news site Semafor, told Folkenflik that it appears newspaper owners are making concessions if Trump is elected so as not to antagonize him and risk retaliation – especially if they do business with Trump. the federal government, just as Bezos did.

Reliable Sources Bulletin, CNN – In his media bulletin for CNNBrian Stelter points out that newspaper endorsements do not appear to have a significant impact on the outcome of political races. However, when the decision not to endorse is made in order to appease one of the candidates, a problem arises. He also referred to “anticipatory obedience,” a situation in which people “sometimes try to protect themselves by giving up power and seeking the favor of those aspiring to authoritarianism.”

“MediaBuzz”, Fox News – On his media criticism showFox News’ Howard Kurtz called the Post’s decision “a profile of lack of courage … an absolute wimp,” given that the paper regularly informs readers on its opinion pages.

Guard – Margaret Sullivan, a Guardian US columnist writing about media, politics and culture, said these decisions could not be seen as anything other than “an appalling display of cowardice and neglect of public duty by both newspapers” Sullivan was a former columnist for The Post, and she had some strong words for her former employer: “This is not the time to stand on the sidelines and shrug, speechless and self-absorbed.”

Columbia Journalism Review – CJR executive editor Sewell Chan was the LA Times editorial page editor in 2020 and 2021 and chaired Joe Biden’s endorsement in 2020, expressing respect for Soon-Shiong as a “decent and caring person” who saved the paper from being “doomed to fail and the recently bankrupt Tribune Company,” Chan noted Owning a newspaper carries a lot of public responsibility. “In my opinion, media owners should hire leaders they trust and then let them make the judgment call,” he wrote. “If the goal was to insulate the Times from accusations of political bias, it appears that this intervention may have had the opposite effect.”

NOTE: The Boston Globe newsroom, independent of the Globe newsroom, endorsed Kamala Harris earlier this month.

Diamond Naga Siu can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @diamondnagasiu and Instagram @diamondnagasiu.