Newspaper Endorsements May Not Be Very Attractive, But They Are More Significant and Meaningful

The visual media takes precedence over the print media, when it comes to political ads and opinions. However, it is the print media that is more pertinent and weighty in its evaluation, even though it does not garner as big an audience as the visual media.

The American Presidency Project at UCSB has organized presidential data in a single searchable database that contains valuable information regarding the elections.

Of the nation’s biggest 100 newspapers, 63 have shown a distinct preference for either Obama or Romney. 9 were non-aligned in their assessments and did not endorse either of them, whilst the remainder kept changing their opinions and will eventually decide over the next few days.

APP says that it is wrong to assume that editorial endorsements are unimpressive useless remnants of a bygone era but that editorial endorsements should be recognized for their worth and quality.

It says that there are two reasons why these endorsements play such an important role. They weigh composite intricate evidence with care and precisely. They evoke debate and discussion. Moreover, when all the editorials are clubbed and assessed together they help to show where exactly the president stands and what his mandate is.

For example the editorials have shown that the Presidential election is not a neck-to-neck horse race as predicted by many polls. On the contrary, 35 editorials are pro-Obama and 28 have endorsed Romney. Many editorials say that they are not endorsing either of them and some are waiting till the last moment to incline either way. It is interesting to note that 10 newspapers, who had 4 years ago endorsed Obama, changed their mind and endorsed Romney this year.

Visual ads are appealing but they do not address serious issues and are mainly tit-for-tat ads that contain controversial but trivial matters. Editorials address more grave and important issues like economy, deficit, national debt, healthcare, gender inequality, foreign policy and so forth.

Editorial endorsement, almost always mull on the meaning and worth of election.  Different editorials discuss dissimilar matters but which are a great source of worthwhile information for political analysts.

The biggest paper that endorses the President is the New York Post, steadfast in its loyalty as it had endorsed him in 2008 also. The paper compares the candidates in five matters of national importance. The difference shows in that they put a higher priority on health care than the state of the economy.

But it is not that the esteemed paper is blinded in its endorsement of Obama, it is also critical of the President’s work during his term. It says that America’s standing in the world has taken a beating and that the economy did not recover as much as it could have been. Moreover, the Post feels that Romney came out well in the debates and has a favorable record of working with the Democrats in Massachusetts.

The bottom line is that editorials skip popular issues but base their issues on facts giving a clear sense of priorities and they could set a valuable guide map of what the country needs for whoever gets to be the country’s next President.

It is worth identifying why some papers have switched their loyalty from endorsing Obama, the last time, to giving their backing to Romney this time round. The papers feel that problems of deficit and debt and Medicare and social security need to be solved with consent by both parties and Obama has failed to do so. They feel that perhaps Romney will do a better job and will be more accommodating of opposing viewpoints.

People who do not believe that newspapers are really influential argue that they do not sway voters and with information available on their finger tips in today’s digital world it would be foolhardy for newspapers to speak from a self created pedestal of elevated prominence.

However even though editorials may not sway the average voter, there is little doubt that they provide rational and logical argument – in the long run that is more fruitful to the country than the ugly politics that other ads present.