• by Ray Schultz , October 25, 2024

The Washington Post has come under a harsh light following the reported decision by owner Jeff Bezos to kill an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for President as part of a move to end all endorsements.  

The endorsement of Harris had already been written in draft form, but was held after Washington Post Publisher Will Lewis announced the decision to spike it as part of a move to avoid endorsements. Editorial Page Editor David Shipley said he "owns" that decision. 

Editor at Large Robert Kagan resigned from the Washington Post editorial board in protest, NPR’s David Folkenflik reports. 

“This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty,” said former Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron, Folkenflik adds.

Folkenflik tweets that the Post's chief technical officer is "getting engineers to block Qs about its decision to note make an endorsement pm the Post's own AI site search."

Lewis absolved Bezos of any responsibility, saying he was ”not sent, did not read and did not opine on any draft," according to the Daily Beast.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that some angry readers have cancelled their subscriptions, although the business impact is not clear. 

Critics apparently see the Harris decision as an attempt to avoid offending former President Donald Trump little more than one week before the election.  But the Post denies it.  

The Post is not the only newspaper to kill an endorsement and to face staff backlash. 

Mariel Garza resigned as editorials editor of The Los Angeles Times last week because the paper blocked the planned endorsement of Kamala Harris, according to Columbia Journalism Review (CJR). 

“I am resigning because I want to make it clear that I am not okay with us being silent,” Garza told CJR. “In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.”

However, The Philadelphia Inquirer has endorsed Harris. 

The Inquirer wrote, “the choice is clear and obvious. Vice President Kamala Harris wants to help all Americans.

"Donald Trump wants to help himself.

"That is why The Inquirer endorses Kamala Devi Harris to be the 47th president of the United States.”

The New York Times has also endorsed Harris. But some large news chains have refrained from endorsing candidates for at least a few years. 

Gannett, reportedly the largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., ruled that its papers will stop picking candidates in presidential elections.

“While USA TODAY does not endorse for president or other national races, local editors at publications across the USA TODAY Network have the discretion to endorse at a state or local level," says a Gannett spokesperson. "Many have decided not to endorse individual candidates, but rather, endorse key local and state issues on the ballot that impact the community.”

Alden Global Capital, another massive publisher, decreed that political endorsements will no longer run in its newspaper pages, with some local exceptions. 

“Unfortunately, as the public discourse has become increasingly acrimonious, common ground has become a no man’s land between the clashing forces of the culture wars,” said a  planned editorial by Alden as reported by the New York Times.  

“At the same time, with misinformation and disinformation on the rise, readers are often confused, especially online, about the differences between news stories, opinion pieces and editorials.”

The Star-Tribune is also declining to endorse candidates. 

This story has been updated.