by Joseph Weber
The Washington Post newspaper will endorse a presidential candidate this year, the publisher announced Friday.
Publisher William Lewis said in a note to readers the news outlet would not back a candidate for president this year nor “in any future presidential election” – marking the first time in 36 years the national daily newspaper – among the most venerable of the mainstream media – will not be making an endorsement in a presidential race.
“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility,” Lewis wrote. “That is inevitable. We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent with the values The Post has always stood for.”
He also said the Post journalistic responsibility is to “provide through the newsroom nonpartisan news for all Americans.”
The decision follows The Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong deciding in recent days that the newspaper would not endorse either candidate. The decision resulted in some top editors at the resigning, according to The Hill newspaper.
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Joseph Weber is a reporter for Just the News.
Photo “Washington Post Building” by Dion Hinchcliffe. CC BY-SA 2.0.
