When Jeff Bezos, billionaire owner of The Washington Post, suddenly ordered the newspaper not to endorse a presidential candidate, more than 200,000 readers rebelled and canceled their subscriptions.
The Gannett Co., owner of more than 200 newspapers and media outlets, somehow interpreted this as an opportunity. The company, which fights for every subscription it can get with deeply discounted pricing, decided to order all of its properties not to endorse a presidential candidate
Yes, it emulated the Post but in a deeper and far more disturbing way. The company issued a gag order so that no matter how important the presidential election may be to a specific community, the local editorial board can’t publish its opinion.
You won’t see The Detroit Free Press’ take on which candidate is better for Michigan’s economy. Or the El Paso Times’ sense of the better candidate to address immigration. Or the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s view on who can best address environmental concerns.
Those editorial editors in local markets largely do extraordinary work, striving daily to reflect their communities’ concerns. Endorsements are made by editorial boards, which often include local residents. The resulting endorsements are usually thoughtful and balanced.
It was about 45 years ago that Gannett adopted a new motto: “A World of Different Voices Where Freedom Speaks.” It was a poetic way of saying that while the growing company was going to keep a close eye on business operations and profit margins, local newsrooms were going to be able to publish the news independently, reflecting the needs and interests of their respective hometowns.
Gannett had been on a spree buying local newspapers and this motto offered some assurance to the family owners of papers they sought to buy.
It was also largely true. I worked many years for the Gannett company, including serving as editor of its flagship USA TODAY, the Green Bay Press Gazette,Gannett Suburban Newspapers in New York and Florida Today in Melbourne, Fla. In all of those jobs, I reviewed and signed off on daily editorials. Over a span of 15 years, there was no hint of corporate interference with what we published.
USA TODAY was so committed to the free flow of opinions that for years it published its lead editorial along with a guest piece telling us why we were wrong. That included presidential endorsements. There are some who will say, “Why do you think you can tell us how to vote?” and I understand the sentiment. That’s not what good editorials do, though.
I’ve always felt that newspapers should do the hard work of sorting through candidates’ attributes and making the same hard decision every voter has to make. An endorsement is not intended to say, “Vote this way.” Instead, it’s an illumination, a careful assessment of candidates’ merits and some thoughts about why one might be a better choice than others.
There’s no question that news organization endorsements are in decline, and it’s for business reasons. As traditional news media strive to maintain their existing audiences in a highly polarized society, they fear alienating a significant percentage of readers. It’s a practical decision, not a lofty one, and not done on the fly.
Indeed, it may be that the digital transformation of American news media means that earnest media endorsements no longer have the value they once did. That decision, though, needs to come well in advance of elections.
The Post and Los Angeles Times were roundly criticized for abandoning a tradition of endorsing presidential candidates less than two weeks before Election Day.
Gannett cut it even closer, possibly seeking some cover from the fact that others were taking the same step.
But it wasn’t the same step. Gannett silenced more than 200 local newsrooms with a single corporate edict, ignoring the needs of local communities at a time when editorial leadership is increasingly scarce.
A company culture can change pretty dramatically when a business is sold. New Media Investment Group (nee Gatehouse} acquired Gannett in 2019. It kept the name, but not the values or most of the employees.
Maybe the new Gannett can dust off that circa-1980 motto to make its new standards clear. Perhaps “A World of Different Properties Where No One Speaks Without Our Permission.” It’s a tough time for freedom of the press.
Ken Paulson is director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University and a former Gannett journalist.
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