Q & A — Endorsements

Question: I’m curious: If reporters go through all the trouble of trying to maintain a lack of bias throughout a campaign, then why does the press bother to endorse any candidate? — Dang.

DFO: You’re talking about two distinct functions of the newspaper. The reporters, indeed, do everything they can to remain neutral and provide balanced story. The Editorial Board, which is peopled with editors (in our case, Publisher Stacey Cowles, Editor Steve Smith, Opinion Page Editor Doug Floyd, and Associate Editors Rebecca Nappi, Gary Crooks and Yours Truly) who don’t report at all. Our endorsements are carefully marked as opinions on the Opinion Page. There’s a pretty high wall of separation at the SR between Opinion and News. The twain simply doesn’t meet. In most cases, reporters have no idea whom we are endorsing until they read the endorsement editorial.