Among the United States' 100 largest newspapers by paid circulation, 57 endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton,[1] while only two, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Florida Times-Union, endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Four (the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit News, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and the Charleston (South Carolina) Post and Courier) endorsed Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson,[2] while three other newspapers (USA Today, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) specifically discouraged their readers from voting for Trump. Clinton won support from not only traditionally Democratic-leaning newspapers, but also traditionally non-political and conservative newspapers,[3][4][5] including those that had "...either never before supported a Democrat or had not in many decades ... or had never endorsed any presidential candidate, like USA Today."[3]
Trump received endorsements from only 20 daily newspapers and six weekly newspapers nationwide, of which only two, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, had circulations of above 100,000.[4] The small number of endorsements received by Trump was unprecedented in American history for a candidate from a major party.[6][7][8]
Media journalist Jim Rutenberg wrote in early October 2016 that endorsements in the 2016 presidential election were distinguished by "blunt condemnation" of Trump and by a "save the Republic" tone.[3] A handful of newspapers endorsed third party candidates, including independent candidate Evan McMullin and Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson; endorsing a candidate outside the two major parties is rare.[4][5]
Summary of newspaper and magazine endorsements in the 2016 United States presidential election
^La Gaceta is "The nation's only tri-lingual newspaper" (English, Spanish, Italian).
^The Sentinel Echo publishes thrice weekly; its endorsement originated with the Ashland Daily Independent, a sister paper.
^The Morehead News publishes twice weekly; its endorsement originated with the Ashland Daily Independent, a sister paper.
^ abAn identically-worded endorsement was also published in a sister publication, The Salem News
^This is the first time the 40-year-old Jewish Week has endorsed a presidential candidate.
^The Suwannee Democrat publishes twice weekly. This editorial originally appeared in the Sunbury Daily Item, but the Suwannee Democrat "embraces its message."
^This is the Windy City Times' first endorsement in the past 16 years.[49]
^The Williamson County Sun publishes twice weekly.
^ abcdThis newspaper is part of the Forum Communications Company, which owns several small community papers in MN/ND/SD/WI region. This is the first time in 50 years the newspaper group has not endorsed a Republican candidate for president.[142]
^The Courier Publications Editorial Board also includes the Camden Herald (circulation 3,544) and Belfast Republican Journal (circulation 5,826).
^ abPublished twice weekly. This newspaper is part of the Forum Communications Company, which owns several small community papers in MN/ND/SD/WI region. This is the first time in 50 years the newspaper group has not endorsed a Republican candidate for president.[142]
^The Detroit Jewish News cited The Atlantic's decision to endorse a candidate.
^The Ann Arbor News is published twice weekly. As a part of the MLive Media Group, it is a shared editorial for several newspapers.
^ abThe Bay City Times and Saginaw News are published three times weekly. As a part of the MLive Media Group, it is a shared editorial for several newspapers.
^The Aegis is published twice weekly. It is a part of the Baltimore Sun media group, but editorially independent. The paper has endorsed a Republican for president for the past several elections.
^The Arab American News editorial notes this is the first time in their history they have declined to endorse a candidate for president.
^The Fairfield Citizen publishes twice weekly. This editorial appeared in several Connecticut newspapers that are allied with the Hearst Media Group.
^ abAn identical editorial also appeared in several other Massachusetts newspapers owned by Gatehouse Media.
^The Crusader is one of the Ku Klux Klan's newspapers. It did not officially endorse Trump, but its full page editorial is considered a de facto endorsement by many.[256][258][259] The Trump campaign has denounced the endorsement.[260]
^An identically worded editorial appeared in four other newspapers that are part of Community Newspaper Holdings in Massachusetts.
^The Observer is owned by Trump's son-in-law, and was one of only four newspapers to endorse Trump during the Republican primaries.
^The Boston Irish Reporter is published in the newspaper format monthly.
^While Memphis Flyer's editorial does not explicitly endorse Clinton, the argument and tone is quite clear: "The Flyer traditionally does not endorse at election time, leaving such personal decisions to our readers. We would be remiss not to point out the essential nature of the choice at hand, which boils down to a long record of competence and experience versus a legacy of unrelenting narcissism and its resultant chaos."[304]
^The Carteret County News-Times is published three times a week.
^"This is the first time the editors of Philadelphia magazine have endorsed a presidential candidate."
^This is the first time Wired has endorsed a candidate in a presidential election.
^Scientific American does not usually endorse political candidates.
^This is The Atlantic's third presidential endorsement in the magazine's 159-year history. Their two previous endorsements were for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
^The Reader is published quarterly. "Never in the 22-year history of The Reader have we officially backed a candidate for president."
^This is the first political endorsement in Foreign Policy's 46-year history.
^This references the editorial by The Atlantic in their decision to publish their anti-endorsement. Loveland Magazine is online-only, but an official member of the Ohio Newspaper Association.[338]
^This is not an official non-endorsement editorial. "As a non-profit journalistic organization, Christianity Today is doubly committed to staying neutral regarding political campaigns."
^This is Latina's first political endorsement for any candidate in its 20-year history.
^This is Vogue's first political endorsement for any candidate in its 123-year history.
^ abAn identical 2016 voter guide endorsing Hillary Clinton appeared on the blogs of Oakland Magazine and Alameda Magazine, both publications of Telegraph Media.
^"For the first time in its 111-year history, Variety is endorsing a presidential candidate."
^The India Currents marks the first time in 30 years that an Indian-American monthly publication has endorsed a US presidential candidate.
^The Daily Pennsylvanian made their endorsement in a joint statement with The Wellesley News. As they noted, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are alumni of the University of Pennsylvania and Wellesley College, respectively.
^The Iowa State Daily also an editorial on why Donald Trump was unfit to be president.[421]
^As noted in the Yale Daily News editorial, Clinton is an alumnus of Yale.
^In their tongue-in-cheek non-endorsement, the Yale Record noted it could not endorse due to its tax status and, consequently, "[cannot] support Clinton's impressive commitment to serving and improving this country—a commitment to which she has dedicated her entire professional career."
^At the beginning of the 2016–2017 academic year, The Beacon became an all digital media organization, and print advertising is no longer be available.[454]
^The editorial specifically calls out the Forum Communications Company's decision to choose "none of the above" as unhelpful.
^In 2012 pre-election editorial, the Aztec Press did not endorse a candidate, but did urge readers to cast their vote.
^This is only the fifth time The DePaulia has issued an endorsement in its 93 year history.
^A minority opinion was also published by the Marquette Wire in favor of Donald Trump.[486]
^"Throughout the 87 years of the Quinnipiac Chronicle’s existence, the editorial board has never taken a stance in a presidential election to our knowledge...this is the first time that the editorial board, as a whole, has done so."
^This is only the fifth time the Suffolk Journal has endorsed a candidate since it was founded 80 years ago.
^ abcdeSUNY (State University of New York) newspapers published a joint editorial, each one giving their different reasons for urging voters not to choose Trump, without endorsing any specific other candidate.[530]
^On November 6, The Age published an additional editorial reaffirming their opposition to Donald Trump.[576]
^In an editorial, the Sunday Independent "would fully endorse" P. J. O'Rourke's endorsement of Hillary Clinton.
^The Independent endorsed the first U.S. presidential candidate in its 30-year history. The Independent ended daily and Sunday print publication in March, becoming an online-only newspaper.
^The Samoa Observer editorial is from its founder, owner and editor-in-chief.
^Diaz, John. "Trump strikes out on newspaper endorsements". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 19, 2016. As of late last week, Trump had not been endorsed by a single major American newspaper, an unprecedented shutout for a Republican or Democratic nominee.
^"Escogemos a Clinton, Cooper y Ross". Qué Pasa (in Spanish). Charlotte, North Carolina: Qué Pasa Media Network. October 11, 2016. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
^County, reflecting the diverse area it serves The distribution area includes all of San Diego; County, from the Mexican border in the South; ago, to Oceanside in the North County Categories: Member Publication Updated 4 years. "San Diego CityBeat » AAN Publications • Association of Alternative Newsmedia". Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Voting recommendations for November 8, 2016". El Observador. Vol. 37, no. 42. San Jose, California: El Observador Publications. October 14–20, 2016. p. 7. Retrieved October 23, 2016 – via Issuu.
^"2014-2015 Advertising Rates"(PDF). The Current. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)