Chip Minemyer: To endorse or not to endorse

Oct. 29—The Tribune-Democrat will roll out endorsements in three important elections over the next week — even as newspapers across the country are stepping away from the traditional role of naming their choices for public offices.

Our editorial board continues to see value in meeting with candidates and probing their qualifications and then sharing our views with readers.

And we believe endorsements serve as an extension of journalism's "watchdog" role — that constitution-supported responsibility of providing checks and balances on those who control public resources and who make important decisions, and on those who aspire to such lofty duties.

We'll offer our thoughts about contenders for Pennsylvania Senate and governor, and a contested local state House seat — providing what we hope is one more source of information for area voters to consider as they fill out early ballots or go to the polls on Nov. 8.

The Tribune-Democrat's Reader Advisory Committee members were in agreement that endorsements still have value — even in a time of divisive politics and countless media outlets.

When we met on Thursday, they offered these thoughts about political endorsements:

—It is the newspaper's job "to keep on top of these people."

—"This is important for people who haven't been paying attention to the elections."

—The analysis helps offset the trend where "the general public doesn't care about issues. They care about what you look like on camera" — a reference to the value of political debates.

Candidates and their campaigns work hard to control the election narrative — and influence voters — by avoiding debates, face-to-face interviews and other moments when a misstep can provide fodder for the opposition or expose a potential weakness.

Those campaigns are hoping you'll respond at the ballot box to what they say in 30-second advertising spots and in pamphlets that land in your mailbox — largely attacks on each other's characters without much discussion of important issues.

Newspaper endorsements should focus on what each candidate brings to the important job of representing the public — actions, words and political history — in addition to character and values.

Media companies have been wrestling with whether publishing endorsements is worth the risk to audience and readership — and by extension, revenue.

An Associated Press report this past week noted recent decisions by major media companies to step away from endorsements — for various reasons, especially concerns about chasing away readers or viewers.

As AP noted, Alden Global Capital newspapers will no longer endorse candidates for president, governor and the U.S. Senate. Alden Global owns still-influential outlets such as the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Boston Herald, Orlando Sentinel and San Jose Mercury News.

Most major news operations that have not banned endorsements are generally pulling back and looking only at hyper-local races.

Perhaps the adage that all politics is local has also been lost along the way.

Certainly, it would seem, politics has become personal — with readers choosing to vote with their subscriptions and viewership as well as with their ballots.

"Picking a candidate in this environment may alienate more readers than it persuades," the New York Daily News wrote in announcing Alden's new policy, as reported by the AP.

Carol Hunter, executive editor of the Des Moines Register, told the AP: "I do think you can make the argument in many cases that (endorsements) have outlived their usefulness because of the increased polarization and the skepticism of media in general.

"I don't think that's a healthy trend. But I think that's reality."

Here's another reality: Seeking out news and commentary that only aligns with your pre-existing ideology is an unhealthy trend for our democracy.

That is how we get widespread conspiracy theories and attempts to circumvent the election process.

The foundational basis for "freedom of the press" and the First Amendment is that democracy needs a variety of voices and perspectives — a "marketplace of ideas" — to function properly and for all members to be represented.

Penelope Muse Abernathy, a Northwestern University journalism professor, told the Associated Press that a decline in the reach of newspapers generally and a drop in those willing to endorse at election time "is yet another loss for grassroots democracy."

As American Presidency Project co-director John Woolley said in that AP report, endorsements "are a good thing in that they model how to think, and clarify to people what the big issues are. I still think that's the case, and I don't think we can get too much of that in our lives."

Hopefully, readers will recognize and appreciate the spirit of our endorsements — in this important 2022 election and beyond.

These editorials are not attempts to tell people how to vote. Citizens should explore a variety of information sources across this great "marketplace of ideas" and seek truth and value.

We'll offer one of those sources — endorsements written with the goal of keeping the community informed and, hopefully, represented by individuals who can make a positive impact by serving.

The leadership of The Tribune-Democrat cares deeply about the region. That's why we still do this.

Chip Minemyer is the editor and general manager of The Tribune-Democrat and TribDem.com, GM of The Times-News of Cumberland, Md., and CNHI regional editor for Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina. He can be reached at 814-532-5091. Follow him on Twitter @MinemyerChip.