USA Today and 200 other Gannett-owned newspapers not endorsing presidential candidate

Gannett-owned USA Today and nan chain’s much than 200 different newspapers won’t endorse a campaigner for president — joining nan Washington Post and Los Angeles Times successful choosing to enactment silent connected adjacent week’s election.

“None of nan USA TODAY Network publications are endorsing successful statesmanlike aliases nationalist races,” a spokesperson for USA Today, Lark-Marie Antón, told The Hill.

Antón said that while Gannett-owned publications won’t endorse candidates successful nationalist races, they do person “discretion” to endorse astatine a authorities aliases section level.

“Many person decided not to endorse individual candidates, but rather, endorse cardinal section and authorities issues connected nan ballot that effect nan community,” Antón told The Hill.

Why are we doing this? Because we judge America’s early is decided locally – 1 title astatine a time,” Antón said.

“And pinch much than 200 publications crossed nan nation, our nationalist work is to supply readers pinch nan facts that matter and nan trusted accusation they request to make informed decisions.”

Gannett owns papers successful cardinal swings that included The Arizona Republic and Detroit Free Press.

Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos wrote an op-ed successful his newspaper on Monday defending his determination not to endorse a statesmanlike candidate, calling it “right” and “principled.”

The Amazon laminitis pushed backmost against immoderate conception that he ordered it up to protect his business interests.

That decision, announced Friday, has reportedly led to tens of thousands of group canceling their subscriptions and protests from journalists pinch a heavy history astatine nan newspaper.

The Post’s editorial unit was prepared to endorse Harris earlier patient Will Lewis wrote alternatively that it would beryllium amended for readers to dress up their ain minds.

Bezos, successful “a statement from our owner” published Monday evening, said that editorial endorsements create a cognition of bias astatine a clip galore Americans don’t judge nan media, and do thing to extremity nan scales of an election.

Ending them is simply a opinionated decision, and it’s nan correct one,” Bezos said.

Bezos wrote that he wished nan determination to extremity statesmanlike endorsements had been done earlier, “in a infinitesimal further from nan predetermination and nan emotions astir it. That was inadequate planning, and not immoderate intentional strategy.”

NPR reported connected Monday that much than 200,000 group person canceled their subscriptions to nan newspaper, citing “two group astatine nan insubstantial pinch knowledge of soul matters.”

A Washington Post spokeswoman would not remark connected nan NPR report.

The Post’s determination came only days aft nan Los Angeles Times besides said it would not endorse a statesmanlike candidate, which nan newspaper has acknowledged has costs them thousands of subscribers.

With Post Wires