These two things can be simultaneously true: Political endorsements by news organizations no longer matter, but newsrooms should feel free to endorse without publisher interference or government retribution.

You may have noticed the furor around decisions by newspapers such as the Washington Post to cancel endorsements at the proverbial 11^th hour in the presidential race. The Post, owned by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, late last month scrapped an endorsement of Kamala Harris that already had been written. So did the Los Angeles Times.

The Post has since suffered more than 250,000 canceled subscriptions, or about 10% of its digital footprint. The Times has lost about 18,000, or 4.5%.

“This (decision) was made within a couple of weeks of the election, and there was no substantive serious deliberation with the editorial board of the paper,” former Post Executive Editor Marty Baron (of “Spotlight” fame) told National Public Radio. “It was clearly made for other reasons, not for reasons of high principle."

a cup of coffee and a pair of glasses on a newspaper — Photo by Ashni on Unsplash

Gannett newspapers—including The Des Moines Register—also dropped presidential endorsements this fall while leaving editors free to endorse in local or congressional races. It was only 2016 when Gannett flagship USA Today departed from its own tradition of not endorsing to speak out against Donald Trump, followed by a 2020 endorsement for Joe Biden.

The recently rebranded Minnesota Star Tribune likewise took a pass: “We will vet the positions and offer policy analysis of the candidates seeking the nation’s two highest offices. We will take note of but forgo staid judgment as to what might qualify as disqualifying campaign behavior. We are confident in the ability of informed citizens to decide whom they wish to vote for based on what they see, hear and research.”

I think many of us worry about the empty calories in the news diets of today’s “informed citizens,” but I don’t see political endorsements as magic vitamin pills for a robust democracy.

One way to read this trend: The erosion of the news business makes publishers more risk averse. They’re ducking for cover.

The late 20^th century, post-Watergate version of American journalism ruled by strong regional newspapers increasingly feels more like the historical exception rather than the rule.

Our country began with partisan news that only gradually became more centrist, rigorous, and devoted to whole communities rather than political power brokers. Today, a weaker press is likelier to defer to political pressure.

Another way to read this: Political endorsements never have been good for news brands and their audiences.

Audiences haven’t necessarily appreciated or understood the “firewall” between opinion and reporting in newsrooms, even in the halcyon days when they thumbed through a print newspaper to see the editorials and endorsements confined to their own section. I don’t blame readers for this confusion.

In my journalism career I was occasionally part of lengthy, contentious meetings where newsroom staff debated our policies to maintain the best possible objectivity—both in practice and appearance. Twenty years ago, when John Kerry challenged incumbent George W. Bush for president, that included keeping political signs off our lawns and foregoing tickets to Bruce Springsteen concerts (because his “Vote for Change” tour supported Kerry). Yes, these meetings were a headache even before social media.

Absolute objectivity never was the expectation of this post-Watergate journalism world. It doesn’t exist. The point was to nurture a process where you can at least strive for objectivity and—as much as possible—avoid the appearance of bias in how you show up in the community. It’s the striving that matters. It centers the practice of journalism on good questions, an open mind, and a healthy dose of humility.

Yet all this effort was confused by editorials and endorsements issued from beneath the same roof. The industry always took pains to clarify the news-editorial firewall, but journalism guidelines remained murky at best in the minds of readers.

Today, it’s a moot point. No need to bother. Even striving for objectivity is sorely out of fashion. In its place is a growing consensus that journalists should simply wear their bias on their sleeves and fire away with their own partisan facts and snark. If everybody is reasonably transparent about their motivations and reporting, let the chips fall and the audience judge, and we’ll characterize the entire mess as journalism.

This tracks with how the money has migrated from the news economy to social influencer gig work, but it’s not a cure for what ails us.

Silicon Valley gave everybody the power to editorialize and endorse every minute of the day.

Donald Trump succeeded in leveraging this digital thunder dome to shatter norms and widen our political divides.

In the 2016 election, multiple newspapers went so far as to break from tradition by publishing their presidential endorsements on the front page. The tally of the top 100 newspaper endorsements that fall saw 57 for Hillary Clinton (representing more than 13 million in circulation) and just two for Trump (the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Florida Times-Union, representing about 315,000 in circulation)

Needless to say, all that hyperventilating didn’t change the election outcome.

“Our profession is now the least trusted of all,” Bezos wrote in his short essay explaining the Post’s decision to scrap endorsements. “Something we are doing is clearly not working.”

I’m not saying the billionaire has all the answers, but in this case he may have a point.

Yet another way to read this: The worth of endorsements in part comes down to a matter of scale.

Many newspapers are forging ahead with endorsements. One of the best defenders of the practice is Art Cullen, editor of the Storm Lake Times and a fellow member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative (not to mention a Pulitzer winner for editorials).

His notion of editorials and endorsements is to “express the view of an institution that is informed and tempered.” His newspaper strives for a point of view “unvarnished by mercantilism, other than to serve the paying reader and to always promote the greater enterprise. We hope to spur discussion and make you think. That is what editorials are for: to inform, enlighten, entertain and, sometimes, persuade.”

It’s a distinguishing difference that Cullen knows many of his readers on a first-name basis or is likely to run into them at the local grocery store. He must face the impact of his words in a profoundly personal way, unlike all the national brands lobbing opinions on the presidential horserace.

Local newsrooms like Cullen’s also bear the burden of costly reporting in a smaller market where city councils and other civic bodies would lack scrutiny without their watchdogs. Most of the editorializing involves specific local issues, or at least local implications of national issues.

But in the bigger picture, consumers are drowning in a sea of opinion—including national partisan opinion—while simultaneously dying of thirst for rigorous reporting on behalf of local communities.

Take the example of the latest Iowa Poll released this weekend, showing Harris leading Trump by three points in Iowa, 47% to 44%. That single data point—costly and complicated to produce—sent shockwaves through the political world. A flood of opinion on the presidential race in recent days now feels outdated or just plain wrong thanks to the poll’s insights. Fear not: Another flood of hastily scribbled opinion is rising as I type this to play off the poll results and grab attention.

We must acknowledge our transformed media market: There’s an abundance of cheap opinion and endorsements but a dearth of expensive original reporting and research. (That’s why I don’t recommend canceling your news subscription as a protest related to endorsements or editorials: You’re just weaking the frontline reporting our democracy so sorely needs.)

Everybody enjoys being strident and outrageous to build their brands and cut through the noise, but we lack the clarity of common facts that make valid opinions all but impossible to ignore.

That’s why I worry much more about the overall health of the news business than the impact of disappearing endorsements.

(P.S.: Sorry for adding to the sea of opinion with this Substack post that contains zero original reporting.)

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Iowa Writers Collaborative Holiday Party

The Iowa Writers Collaborative will host a party at the Harkin Institute on the Drake University campus in Des Moines. The event will include appetizers and a short program. It’s a great opportunity to meet some of your favorite writers and visit the state-of-the-art home of the Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement.

Please become a paid subscriber to any of our columns, such as this one, and RSVP here. A donation will be accepted at the door for spouses or guests. If you’re traveling, see hotel information on the RSVP form.

Details
When: 5-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13.
Where: Harkin Institute, 2800 University Ave., Des Moines.
What: Appetizers, a short program, great conversation.

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The Iowa Writers Collaborative has grown to include more than 50 members and a Letters From Iowans column. Each member is an independent columnist who shares two things in common: They have made a living as writers and are interested in the state of Iowa. Subscribe to the main account for a convenient way to be notified each Sunday about most posts by most members. You can support individual members according to your unique interests by becoming a paid subscriber to any newsletter. We are also proud to be affiliated with Iowa Capital Dispatch, where some of our content is regularly republished.

Nicole Baart: This Stays Here, Sioux Center

Rekha Basu: Shouts and whispers, Des Moines

Ray Young Bear: From Red Earth Drive, Meskwaki Settlement

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Tory Brecht: Brecht’s Beat, Quad Cities

Dartanyan L. Brown: My Integrated Live, Des Moines

Douglas Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Jane Burns: The Crossover, Des Moines

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Rachelle Chase : Reading with Rachelle, Ottumwa

Steph C: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Taylor Deckert: Taylor’s Millennial Mindset, Sioux City

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Randy Evans: Stray Thoughts, Des Moines via Bloomfield

Daniel P. Finney: Paragraph Stacker, Des Moines

Marianne Fons: Reporting From Quiltropolis, Winterset

Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Chris Gloninger: Weathering Climate Change

Dennis Goldford, “Let’s Talk Politics,” Des Moines

Avery Gregurich: The Five and Dime, Marengo

Fern Kupfer and Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Rob Gray's Area: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny

Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Iowa

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla

Phoebe Wall Howard: Shifting Gears, Detroit

Iowa Podcasters' Collaborative

Black Iowa News: Dana James, Iowa

Chris Jones: Chris’s Substack, Iowa City

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Calhoun County

Hola Iowa: Iowa

Kurtis Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Vicki Minor: Relatively Minor, Winterset

Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids

Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines

Ty Rushing: Ty’s Take, Iowa City

Steve Semken: Ice Cube Press, LLC, North Liberty

Sarah Scull: The Piecemaker, Creston

Macey Shofroth: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk

Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander's Emerging Voices: Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Jason Walsmith: The Racontourist, Earlham

Kali White VanBaale: 988: Mental Healthcare in Iowa, Bondurant

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

Kyle Munson’s Main Street

Should political endorsements end or endure…