With just 14 days remaining until the presidential election, newspaper endorsements are pouring in.
According to Editor & Publisher, a magazine which covers the news of the newspaper industry, Sen. Barack Obama has a wide lead in the number of editorial endorsements.
The magazine reported Monday that Obama has secured 121 newspaper endorsements with those newspapers collectively reaching around 13.5 million readers in total circulation. Major newspapers that endorsed Obama include the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune.
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has received a total of 42 newspaper endorsements which reach a circulation of close to 3.7 million. McCain's major endorsements include the New York Post, Dallas Morning News and the Columbus (OH) Dispatch.
An interesting trend in this year's endorsements is the number of papers that have endorsed Obama although they have usually backed Republican candidates in the past. Around 24 newspapers that endorsed the Bush/Cheney ticket in 2004 have endorsed Obama this year including the Austin American-Statesmen, which has a strong history of backing Republican presidential candidates.
Many may argue the significance of newspaper editorial endorsements, but with so many changes this year in endorsement trends it shall be interesting to see what impact they will have in this year's election.
