Newspaper endorsements? Why? Because communities are stronger when newspaper has strong voice

Every day, the opinion pages of the News Tribune and of countless newspapers around the globe are filled with analysis, insight and stands on everything from taxes and trampoline safety to budget battles and baseball. How odd it would seem for a newspaper to suddenly fall silent over something as vital as elections and the candidates seeking public office.
Nonetheless, I get asked the question all the time: Why make political endorsements at all? Why do newspapers do that?It’s because newspapers’ opinion pages exist to help lead and encourage public dialogues that communities need to have and must have in order to prosper. From many ideas come the best ideas. And how could the News Tribune ask readers to share their views if we weren’t willing to be brave enough to put ours out there, too?During election seasons, those dialogues can be about candidates and races and issues. The discussions can help voters pick leaders who’ll be most effective at tackling pressing problems. For several election seasons now, the News Tribune has tried to publish its endorsements earlier. Our goal is to spark conversations, not reserve for ourselves the final word.By offering endorsements, a newspaper isn’t necessarily telling anyone who to vote for or trumpeting one political party over another; it’s urging readers to think seriously about who they’ll pick, who they feel the best person is for a particular post at a particular time. Yes, we tell you who we think are the best choices. And our thoughts are pretty well informed after meeting with every candidate, either individually or via public forums. Ultimately, though, you the voter, with pen in hand at your polling place, have the power and make the ultimate call.“The First Amendment isn’t there to guarantee (the press’) right to publish recipes and stories about football, (as) important as those things may be to our readers,” David Holwerk, a former editorial page editor and former News Tribune editor, once said. “Endorsing is a basic function of the press in our democracy. If we abandon it, we are abandoning one of our primary reasons for existing.”Fortunately for democracy, few papers have abandoned their responsibility.The News Tribune’s institutional voice is determined by editorial board members. The current board is Publisher Neal Ronquist, employee representative Kris Vereecken, citizen representatives Classie Dudley and Vern Swanum, and me as editorial page editor. Endorsements and other editorial positions are typically reached by a consensus of the board, with the publisher reserving the right to overrule; but that’s something he rarely, if ever, does - and didn’t do this election season.Just as the publisher reserves the right to overrule the editorial board, the News Tribune’s owner, Forum Communications Co., reserves the right to speak with a unified voice via all of its media properties. That typically only happens in high-profile, national races. This year it happened only with regard to the presidential race.If our letters to the editor email inbox is any indication, the News Tribune’s endorsements sparked the emotions of an engaged community once again. And that’s a good thing. It says a lot about Duluth and the Northland. It’s a big part of the reason that newspapers exist. And it’s an even bigger part of why communities want and need civic-minded, strong-voiced newspapers. Chuck Frederick is the News Tribune’s editorial page editor. This is an updated and revised version of a column originally written in 2011.Every day, the opinion pages of the News Tribune and of countless newspapers around the globe are filled with analysis, insight and stands on everything from taxes and trampoline safety to budget battles and baseball. How odd it would seem for a newspaper to suddenly fall silent over something as vital as elections and the candidates seeking public office.
Nonetheless, I get asked the question all the time: Why make political endorsements at all? Why do newspapers do that?It’s because newspapers’ opinion pages exist to help lead and encourage public dialogues that communities need to have and must have in order to prosper. From many ideas come the best ideas. And how could the News Tribune ask readers to share their views if we weren’t willing to be brave enough to put ours out there, too?During election seasons, those dialogues can be about candidates and races and issues. The discussions can help voters pick leaders who’ll be most effective at tackling pressing problems. For several election seasons now, the News Tribune has tried to publish its endorsements earlier. Our goal is to spark conversations, not reserve for ourselves the final word.By offering endorsements, a newspaper isn’t necessarily telling anyone who to vote for or trumpeting one political party over another; it’s urging readers to think seriously about who they’ll pick, who they feel the best person is for a particular post at a particular time. Yes, we tell you who we think are the best choices. And our thoughts are pretty well informed after meeting with every candidate, either individually or via public forums. Ultimately, though, you the voter, with pen in hand at your polling place, have the power and make the ultimate call.“The First Amendment isn’t there to guarantee (the press’) right to publish recipes and stories about football, (as) important as those things may be to our readers,” David Holwerk, a former editorial page editor and former News Tribune editor, once said. “Endorsing is a basic function of the press in our democracy. If we abandon it, we are abandoning one of our primary reasons for existing.”Fortunately for democracy, few papers have abandoned their responsibility.The News Tribune’s institutional voice is determined by editorial board members. The current board is Publisher Neal Ronquist, employee representative Kris Vereecken, citizen representatives Classie Dudley and Vern Swanum, and me as editorial page editor. Endorsements and other editorial positions are typically reached by a consensus of the board, with the publisher reserving the right to overrule; but that’s something he rarely, if ever, does - and didn’t do this election season.Just as the publisher reserves the right to overrule the editorial board, the News Tribune’s owner, Forum Communications Co., reserves the right to speak with a unified voice via all of its media properties. That typically only happens in high-profile, national races. This year it happened only with regard to the presidential race.If our letters to the editor email inbox is any indication, the News Tribune’s endorsements sparked the emotions of an engaged community once again. And that’s a good thing. It says a lot about Duluth and the Northland. It’s a big part of the reason that newspapers exist. And it’s an even bigger part of why communities want and need civic-minded, strong-voiced newspapers.Chuck Frederick is the News Tribune’s editorial page editor. This is an updated and revised version of a column originally written in 2011.