In the 1976 US presidential election, the editorial board of the Washington Post newspaper supported the candidacy of Jimmy Carter and, since then, that of all the Democrats who succeeded him. Until this Thursday, when the publisher announced that they will not do so for the elections on November 5. The decision came directly from the owner, Jeff Bezos, and has already led to layoffs. On the other side of the United States the same thing happens in the Los Angeles Times.

“The Washington Post will not make statements supporting a presidential candidate in this election. Not in any future presidential election. “We are returning to our roots, of not supporting presidential candidates,” reads a note from editor William Lewis, who took office in January of this year, referring to the position taken by the newspaper in the elections before 1976. “We recognize that this will be read in various ways, including as tacit support for one candidate or condemnation of the other, or as an abdication of responsibility. This is inevitable,” adds Lewis, justifying the choice with the defense of the Post’s values ​​and with “confidence in the ability of readers to decide for themselves.”

The statement of support for a presidential candidate is made by the editorial team, which operates separately from the journalists who write directly for the newspaper, and would have already been written in favor of Kamala Harris, the Post itself writes, citing two anonymous sources. inside the newspaper. With less than two weeks until the elections and with the polls the closest since the vice president assumed leadership of the campaign, the declaration of support was expected as usual. The same sources assure that the change in position was a request from billionaire Jeff Bezos, who bought the newspaper in 2013.

About political support https://t.co/e5OTZhylIE

This is cowardice, whose victim is democracy. @realdonaldtrump You will see this as an invitation to further intimidate the owner. @jeffbezos (and others). Disturbing lack of character in an institution famous for its bravery.

– Marty Baron (@PostBaron) October 25, 2024

The editorial staff reacted with “shock, fury and surprise,” one member told the publication Semafor, adding that editor Robert Kagan immediately resigned. “If you don’t have the courage to have a newspaper, don’t be one,” adds the same source. Martin Baron, former executive editor of the Post, also criticized the decision. “This is cowardice, a dark moment that will leave damage to democracy,” he said, referring to the newspaper’s motto “Democracy dies in darkness.” “Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to continue intimidating Jeff Bezos and other media owners,” he added. Baron was executive editor under Trump and under his leadership, the Post won eleven Pulitzers, including one for coverage of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

The consequences of this decision were also felt in subscriptions: 2,000 readers canceled their subscriptions to the newspaper in the hours following the publication of Lewis’ note, writes Semafor.

[Já saiu o quarto episódio de “A Grande Provocadora”, o novo podcast Plus do Observador que conta a história de Vera Lagoa, a mulher que afrontou Salazar, desafiou os militares de Abril e ridicularizou os que se achavam donos do país. Pode ouvir aqui, no Observador, e também na Apple Podcasts, no Spotify e no Youtube. E pode ouvir aqui o primeiro episódio, aqui o segundo e aqui o terceiro.]

In Los Angeles, “genocide was the line drawn in the sand”

With this decision, the Washington Post becomes the second American newspaper to break the tradition of supporting presidential candidates in the space of a week, after the Los Angeles Times also did so. Mariel Garza, editorial editor of the LA Times, resigned Wednesday after the newspaper’s owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, announced to his team that he would not declare any support this year earlier this month.

As with the Post, Garza already had a draft for a statement to Kamala Harris. “I resign because I want to make it clear that I do not agree with us remaining silent. In dangerous times, honest people must stand up. “That’s how I do it,” he explained in an interview with Columbia Journalism Review. Robert Greene, also a Pulitzer winner, and Karin Klein joined Garza and also submitted their resignations this Friday.

So many comments about him @latimes The editorial board is not providing presidential endorsement this year. Let me clarify how this decision came about.

The Editorial Committee had the opportunity to write a factual analysis of all POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies of EACH…

– Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong (@DrPatSoonShiong) October 23, 2024

Soon-Shiong clarified his decision, explaining that he presented the editorial team with the possibility of creating “a factual analysis of all the positive and negative policies of each candidate,” but that this was rejected. The owner of the LA Times also made a similar assessment to the Post editor about the statements of support. “Our readers will be able to decide who is worthy of being President for the next four years,” he wrote on the social network X.

His daughter, Nika Soon-Shiong, went further and linked blocking support for Kamala Harris to her policies supporting Israel. “There is a lot of controversy and confusion about the LAT decision. I trust the judgment of the editorial team. For me, genocide is the line marked in the sand,” he argued, also in X. “This is not a vote for Donald Trump. “This is a refusal to support a candidate who oversees a war on children,” he added.

This is not a vote for Donald Trump. This is a refusal to ENDORSE a candidate who is overseeing a war on children. I am proud of the LA Times’ decision just as I am certain that there are no children of darkness. Human animals do not exist.

— Nika Soon-Shiong ???????? (@nikasoonshiong) October 25, 2024