Friday, October 17, 2008

Barack Obama Chicago Tribune's Choice

Endorsements: We see it all the time in the media, celebrities endorsing political movements and candidates. Oprah has openly come out endorsing Obama which is huge for Barack. Today it was announced by the Chicago Tribune that they are "proud to endorse him today for the president of the United States." Endorsements, though some may prove more of an impact than others, are important. The Chicago Tribune also posted a survey to the readers of this article: 

  • Are you surprised by this endorsement?

    Yes (8232 responses)

     57.3%

    No (6123 responses)

     42.7%

  • Do you find the Tribune's endorsement persuasive?

    Yes (10290 responses)

     71.9%

    No (4017 responses)

     28.1%

  • Should newspapers endorse candidates?

    Yes (10753 responses)

     75.5%

    No (3490 responses)

     24.5%

  • Majority of the comments posted on this article by the public have agreed with the decision to endorse Obama, some thought it wasn't their place, "Are we supposed to be surprised? I don't think a newspaper has any business officially endorsing anyone. Let your readers  decide without your obvious bias." What do you think? Should newspapers endorse political candidates? 

    3 comments:

    bigred said...

    I found myself agreeing with their test subjects on the first two questions, but not on the third. I think it's interesting that newspapers are not even trying to appear not to have a bias. I mean, even fox news tries to cover up their own secret agendas. In my opinion, I think papers should still be unbiased and not try to decide on issues for us. However, if you're going to do it, you might as well be as open as possible about it.

    kmorrill said...

    Um... I personally don't think that a newspaper, and especially Oprah, should be endorsing cadidates. Oprah is a very influential woman, and I am sure a lot of people would vote for Obama just becuase Oprah endorsed him. When you have as much voice as celebrities, I think you need to be careful about which of your opinions you are open about.

    Brooke Rene said...

    I'm surprised that the Chicago Tribune would do that - as a reader I would have a hard time trusting their articles on the election after they announced their bias. But, I guess it's great that they're not hiding it.