Written by Michael Thervil
Photo by AP/ John Locher
The question of the day is: “Should Journalists and newspapers be endorsing political candidates?” For many news agencies and Journalists around the world, the answer is “no”. However, in America, it seems that the opposite is true. Whether the American press wants to admit it or not, what American Press prints does matter; and since what they print matters, it can be assumed that what they print has influence. So, since what they print matters and it has influence then by default, they have the ability to influence their presidential elections.
Within the last 10 years the issue of election interference has been a hot topic in America. From accusing foreign governments and countries such as China and Russia of illegally “hacking” and influencing American political elections, to essentially allowing American Politicians on the local, state, and federal levels to accept “political funding” in the form of political donations” which translates into bribes and pay-off for the political astute.
It’s been long held that both Journalists and news agencies should never display any amount of bias, especially when it comes to politics, for if they show any signs of political partisan, it suggests that their reporting standards are weak, subject to manipulation, and are biased and therefore not to be trusted as a source of credible news to readers and consumers. Yet, well established news agencies such as the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have been engaging in the practice of endorsing political candidates for decades if not since their conception. Knowing that, it’s no wonder why Corporate News Outlets are having an extremely hard time competing with independent news sources because of the biases in their reporting standards.
Recently it was reported that Jeff Bezos, Multi-Billionaire and owner of global retail titan Amazon, has ordered his newspaper Washington Post to not endorse any one political candidate in this year’s election. On the surface Jeff Bezos can be seen as taking a stand against news agencies from endorsing political candidates thus putting an end to election interference. But if you dig deeper into the possible motive that Jeff Bezos has, it can be said that the reason why he may have invoked the actions that he has was because he may benefit business-wise. As of late, Jeff Bezos is in direct competition with fellow Multi-Billionaire Elon Musk when it comes to civilian space travel with his aerospace travel brand Blue Origin.
And with civilian space travel comes the federal government and possible federal contracts. With the possibility of former president Donald Trump winning this presidential election, it can be assumed that maybe he is urging the Washington Post to not endorse his political rival so he may gain favor with trump who has a possibility of winning the 2024 election cycle. If this perspective is true, then it can be considered a wise move by Jeff Bezos.
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