Why do newspapers endorce political candidates?
In a word, tradition. Newspaper have had editorials and endorsements for decades. It probably dates back to the days when most newspapers were slanted in a particular political direction, as they were written for a specific audience. Remember — there were a ton of newspapers in each city way back when, so a slant was somewhat expected. As newspapers have become fewer in number, the idea of editorials has remained but it has been altered. It’s a way of trying to make the community a little better through a voice. However, the op-ed page — the page opposite the editorial page — offers a variety of other viewpoints (or at least it does in most major publications). Sometimes opposing candidates are supported that way. A friend of mine spent a few weeks on a newspaper’s editorial board. He actually came away quite impressed with the process, and how there is no influence from any other department of the paper. In other words, reporters have no idea what’s coming, and management doesn’t i
