Posted on 10/25/2012 8:20:42 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — Wisconsin’s largest and most influential news organization — won’t be endorsing in the very tight presidential and Senate races this year. (Oct. 17 headline: “Marquette Law School Poll finds presidential and Senate races tied in Wisconsin.”)
I asked editorial page editor David Haynes about this and he replied in an email: “I’m writing a column on our decision for the Sunday paper. We may post that early (Friday). As a point of history: The JS did not endorse in the 2000 presidential election, and I remember [editor] Marty Kaiser writing at the time that it was not the first time that a newspaper in Milwaukee had not endorsed. It wasn’t common, but it had happened before.”
Will the paper be making any endorsements? “Sorry, going to have to put you off until we tell our readers,” Haynes replied.
I’m told that both U.S. Senate candidates Tammy Baldwin and Tommy Thompson were furious when they heard the no-endorsement news; I’ve requested comment from both campaigns.
Inside the paper, I’m told, there’s the feeling that “we have two tough picks to make and we’re taking a pass,” and the paper is less relevant because of it.
Five years ago, a Journal Sentinel staffer told Milwaukee Magazine that “we should endorse for president or get out of the editorial business.” In the same media column, the head of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee journalism department said: “If you’re not going to editorialize on the most important topic of the day, and if you’re not going to take a stand in the most important presidential election of our lives, what’s the point?”
The Journal Sentinel endorsed Barack Obama in 2008.
UPDATE: Bruce Murphy, who has covered Milwaukee media and politics for decades, writes: “Sources tell me the newspaper felt the heat of endorsing Republican Gov. Scott Walker in the bitterly contested recall election and decided it wasn’t worth it. The word is the newspaper will do no more endorsements unless the editors really feel like a candidate has crossed the line and they need to weigh in.”
That’s the same as a Romney endorsement.
Sorta like Senator Obozo voting “Present” all the time instead of having the guts to make a decision.
This is like the democrats leaving the state to avoid a tough vote- very weak.
That is funny. Way to keep up journalistic standards.
However, our partisanship prevents us from endorsing a Republican. So, we will just decline to endorse anyone.
Yep,
Rather than admitting Obama was, is, and always will be a worthless schyster they got hustled by and endorcing Romney, they will stay on the liberal crap and vote “PRESENT” just like their last endorcement.
Face it, you FLUBBED HORRIBLY LAST TIME BECAUSE OF YOUR POLITICAL LEANINGS!! NOW YOU DON’T HAVE THE GENITALS TO ADMIT THE TRUTH! Cowards.
Correctamundo!
The Journal-Sentinel endorsed Obama in 2008 and Kerry in 2004. Very interesting!
sounds like a ball-less editorial board, eager to not lose its few remaining liberal subscribers.
In that light, it's an stealth endorsement of Romney.
Milwuakee newspaper decides not to endorse either a presidential or a senate candidate
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wiscosnin interest ping list.
To any of you who actually subscribe to this paper: Is anyone else as angry as I am about the half sheet of ads in which the JS wraps several sections of the print edition? They are so annoying, and they ill serve the advertisers because I (and many others) just yank them off and deposit them directly into the garbage, or the recycling bin.
Sorry but I don’t know how the Urinal wraps it’s trash these days. I haven’t taken it since about 1992. The last time they tried giving away free papers at Pick ‘N Save I noted that not only I but 4 other people refused to take one. It is pretty bad when they cannot give their stuff away.
They might as well has just told Democrats to stay home and not vote.
-PJ
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