Gannett-owned USA Today and the chain’s more than 200 other newspapers won’t endorse a candidate for president — joining the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times in choosing to stay silent on next week’s election.
“None of the USA Today Network publications are endorsing in presidential or national races,” a spokesperson for USA Today, Lark-Marie Antón, told the Hill.
Antón said that while Gannett-owned publications won’t endorse candidates in national races, they do have “discretion” to endorse at a state or local level.
“Many have decided not to endorse individual candidates, but rather, endorse key local and state issues on the ballot that impact the community,” Antón told the Hill.
“Why are we doing this? Because we believe America’s future is decided locally — one race at a time,” Antón said.
“And with more than 200 publications across the nation, our public service is to provide readers with the facts that matter and the trusted information they need to make informed decisions.”
Gannett owns papers in key swing states that include the Arizona Republic and the Detroit Free Press.
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos wrote an op-ed in his newspaper on Monday defending his decision not to endorse a presidential candidate, calling it “right” and “principled.”
The Amazon founder pushed back against any notion that he ordered it to protect his business interests.
That decision, announced Friday, has reportedly led to tens of thousands of people canceling their subscriptions and protests from journalists with a deep history at the newspaper.
The Post’s editorial staff was prepared to endorse Harris before publisher Will Lewis wrote instead that it would be better for readers to make up their own minds.
Bezos, in “a note from our owner” published Monday evening, said editorial endorsements create a perception of bias at a time many Americans don’t believe the media, and do nothing to tip the scales of an election.
“Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one,” Bezos said.
Bezos wrote that he wished the decision to end presidential endorsements had been made earlier, “in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it. That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.”
NPR reported Monday that more than 200,000 people have canceled their subscriptions to the newspaper, citing “two people at the paper with knowledge of internal matters.”
A Washington Post spokeswoman would not comment on the NPR report.
The WaPo’s decision came only days after the Los Angeles Times also said it would not endorse a presidential candidate, a decision which the newspaper has acknowledged has cost it thousands of subscribers.
With Post wires