I’ve been watching Obama rack up the endorsements. But, a quick check of the last presidential election shows that Kerry far outstripped Bush in getting endorsements from major news outlets (and including a huge number of folks who endorsed Bush in 2000).
Do endorsements make sense any more?
Link: 2004 Media Endorsements – dKosopedia
As of 10/26, our list below represents 97 endorsements for Kerry, 58 for Bush, and 6 who declined to endorse. Of the Kerry endorsements, 25 (25.8%) endorsed Bush in 2000, and 49 (50.5%) endorsed Gore in 2000. Of the Bush endorsements, 38 (65.5%) endorsed Bush in 2000, and 4 (6.9%) endorsed Gore in 2000. Of the “Declined” endorsements, 6 (100%) endorsed Bush in 2000. Using these figures, Kerry holds a 6-to-1 advantage over Bush in endorsement switchers, however that doesn’t include the 6 papers that switched from Bush to nobody which E&P does not track. If you include those, then it’s an 8-to-1 advantage.
Endorsements put the media’s position of impartiality in jeopardy so they should be encouraged at all.