I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
At three weeks before the election, more newspapers are publishing editorial endorsements for president – and Barack Obama is ahead by a 2-1 margin nationwide, albeit with only about a tenth of the papers reporting at this time.
Add to that Esquire magazine, which will endorse for the first time in its 75-year history when its November issue hits the stands Tuesday. Esquire is backing Obama as the “only possible choice to lead the country.”
Editor and Publisher noted Sunday that Obama picked up a dozen endorsements over the weekend and that John MCain picked up two. E&P then puts this in context:
So far Obama leads by a 21-9 margin with at least 300 to go.
One New Mexico paper, the Santa Fe New Mexican, is on the list so far, having endorsed Obama Oct. 4 as “a leader for our troubled times.”
The Democratic site DemConWatch.com also is tracking endorsements and as of Sunday had posted a list showing 19 for Obama versus nine for McCain, with nearly 100 other newspapers listed as having not yet endorsed.
That site’s format shows endorsement results in a quick-view three-column format – papers for Obama, papers for McCain and those that haven’t endorsed yet. Also for quick reference, one can tell whether this year’s endorsement is a departure for the paper by the (D) or (R) next to the paper’s name, depending on whether it endorsed Democrat John Kerry or Republican George W. Bush in 2004.
But for those uncomfortable relying on a partisan site, E&P will have a chart-type update posted today, which will also list each paper’s 2004 endorsements by adding a K for Kerry or B for Bush. E&P site’s also has the added benefit of listing the circulation of each paper, noting that a candidate might have a greater number of papers but that those papers might reflect fewer readers.
Sadly, one of those in the third column of the DemConWatch list won’t be making an endorsement this year. The Albuquerque Tribune, which folded in February, was one of those tracked in the previous election and is listed with a (D) by its name because it endorsed Kerry in 2004. The Albuquerque Journal, of course, is listed with an (R) for endorsing Bush.
So far it appears at least three papers now endorsing Obama have switched parties, having endorsed Bush in 2004 – the Stockton (Calif.) Record, the Canton (Ohio) Repository and The Sun of San Bernadino, Calif.
What’s an endorsement worth in terms of outcome?
E&P answered that question in an Oct. 3 column by positing that:
Stated or unstated, the common belief is that newspaper picks for president are meaningless; they influence no one, especially in an era when media approval ratings in polls rival the paltry numbers for lawyers.
And then columnist Greg Mitchell goes on to say that his own predictions in 2004 based on endorsements “were amazingly accurate:”
My only blunder: Florida. But I did note that if Bush won there, he would take the whole ball of wax. This is what happened.
