The Washington Publish, which adopted the tagline “Democracy Dies in Darkness” throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, has opted to not endorse a candidate within the 2024 presidential election, writer and CEO of the newspaper William Lewis introduced Friday in a note to readers.
Lewis, who joined the Publish in January, wrote that the paper is “returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates,” pointing to editorials from 1960 and 1972 as situations through which the paper defined its rationale for not doing so. Lewis argued that the Publish “had it proper earlier than” 1976, when the editorial board endorsed Jimmy Carter for president. The Publish has endorsed each cycle since then aside from 1988.
“We acknowledge that this will probably be learn in a spread of the way, together with as a tacit endorsement of 1 candidate, or as a condemnation of one other, or as an abdication of duty. That’s inevitable,” Lewis writes, including, “We don’t see it that method.”
Others clearly did. “That is cowardice, a second of darkness that can go away democracy as a casualty,” Marty Baron, the Publish’s former government editor, mentioned in an announcement to Vainness Truthful. “Donald Trump will have fun this as an invite to additional intimidate The Publish’s proprietor, Jeff Bezos (and different media house owners). Historical past will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an establishment famed for braveness.”
Tommy Vietor, a former Barack Obama staffer and Pod Save America cohost, wrote on X that the Publish “endorsing [Kamala] Harris would transfer precisely zero voters her method, however nonetheless lol at this cowardly shit from the crew that introduced us ‘democracy dies in darkness.’”
NBC’s Chuck Todd, whereas admitting to be “agnostic concerning the impression of newspaper endorsements,” wrote on X that “the unintended consequence of this determination…is precisely what makes this all so demoralizing to precise working journalists. When wealthy guys and publicly traded firms cower, it hurts all of us.”
The Publish’s determination comes on the heels of the Los Angeles Instances editorial board breaking with latest custom in not endorsing a 2024 presidential candidate, a controversial transfer by its billionaire proprietor, Patrick Quickly-Shiong. The Instances’ editorials editor, Mariel Garza, resigned Wednesday in protest, with two editorial members, Robert Greene and Karin Klein, following Thursday.
Whereas it’s debatable whether or not newspaper editorials—that are produced by the opinion aspect of the operation—really sway voters, particularly as People’ views appear locked in lower than two weeks out from Election Day, it’s putting to see two of the nation’s most distinguished publications, every of which endorsed Hillary Clinton (2016) and Joe Biden (2020), sitting out the 2024 race.
“These choices are appalling, a dereliction of responsibility, and a disturbing assertion of the priorities of two newspapers which might be owned by billionaires,” Margaret Sullivan, a former New York Instances public editor and Publish media columnist, who at present writes a politics and media column for The Guardian US, tells me.
Contained in the Publish, NPR’s David Folkenflik reported, editorial web page editor David Shipley relayed the choice to employees in a “tense assembly” simply earlier than Lewis introduced it publicly. Whereas staffers have been reportedly stunned by the change, Shipley reportedly mentioned that he “owns” the choice and that it was meant to permit the paper to stay “impartial,” language that was additionally utilized by Lewis in his letter to readers.
Two Publish board members, Charles Lane and Stephen W. Stromberg had already drafted a Harris endorsement when the method stalled, previous to Friday’s announcement, in line with Columbia Journalism Evaluate government editor Sewell Chan. He added that the choice, which was permitted by Shipley, has “angered” staffers.
Lewis’s tenure has been marked by controversy, with the Post, among the many retailers, reporting on clashes over his plans for the paper and his ties to the British phone-hacking scandal. Lewis beforehand labored for Rupert Murdoch’s Information Corp.
