If “Democracy Dies in Darkness”, America just got a little darker

The Washington Post bends a knee to Trump

A federal judge in Florida did not mince words last week when he wrote, “To keep it simple for the state of Florida, it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

But what good does the First Amendment do if corporate newspaper owners don’t use it?

The federal judge shut down the effort to squelch the ad, calling it “unconstitutional coercion” and reminding DeSantis and his team with this verbal two-by-four over the top of their heads: “It’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

Photo montage from Canva

Which brings us to the equally stupid decision by the Washington Post, less than two weeks before the November election, to not endorse anyone for President. The decision by Post owner Jeff Bezos stunned the newsroom, which reportedly already had an endorsement of Kamala Harris written.

The newspaper’s editor-at-large, Robert Kagan, immediately resigned in protest. He told CNN Friday night it was an easy decision for him. “This is obviously a decision by Jeff Bezos to curry favor with Donald Trump in anticipation of his possible victory. Trump has threatened to go after Bezos’ business. Bezos runs one of the largest companies in America. They have tremendously intricate relations with the federal government that depend on the federal government and Trump has made it clear he will attack media organizations that are critical of him.”

Bezos, of course, is a multi-billionaire who owns Amazon, as well as the Washington Post. The newspaper publisher tried to explain it away, saying decades ago, the Post did not endorse candidates. It resumed doing so in 1976.

The timing says it all

If Post managers indeed wanted to get out of the endorsement business, it should have made that decision six months ago. Or AFTER the November election. To do it now is a clear sign that Bezos is afraid of Trump and he doesn’t want his newspaper upsetting the guy.

The Los Angeles Times, which is also owned by a multi-billionaire, is going through the same turmoil. The editorials editor there resigned on Wednesday after the newspaper owner blocked a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris. Mariel Garza told the Columbia Journalism Review, “In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.”

The Times and the Post are part of a growing trend of newspapers getting out of the endorsement business. My Iowa Writers’ Collaborative colleague, Ed Tibbetts, wrote a week ago about his former newspaper, the Quad Cities Times, declining to endorse candidates. The Des Moines Register announced in 2022 that it would no longer endorse candidates for US House or Senate, focusing instead on local races.

There are legitimate reasons not to do political endorsements. It’s unlikely endorsements make much of a difference. They can serve only to alienate readers who disagree with the endorsements. And newspapers need every reader they can get these days.

Another foot on a slippery slope

But the decisions by the owners of the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times are not well-thought-out journalism decisions. They are last-minute, lily-livered political decisions. And it is another foot on the slippery slope of Donald Trump threatening all institutions that stand up to him.

Trump threatened last week to take CBS’s broadcasting license because he didn’t like the way 60 Minutes edited an interview with Harris. He wrote on social media, “60 Minutes should immediately be taken off the air for election interference. CBS should lose its license. This is the biggest scandal in broadcast history.”

No, the biggest scandal in broadcasting history is a presidential candidate threatening the news media for doing their job. Technically, the CBS network doesn’t have a broadcast license. But the company owns local television stations in many markets around the country, and the Federal Communications Commission could theoretically not renew those station licenses or revoke them if it caved to Trump, who would appoint FCC Commissioners.)

Democracy gets darker

Folks, this is dangerous stuff. As the federal judge in Florida pointed out, we have a First Amendment in the constitution. It protects journalists for telling the truth. But when corporate owners block journalists from doing their job, the First Amendment loses its power.

The Washington Post motto, right beneath the masthead, is “Democracy dies in darkness.” It may not be midnight just yet for America, but things sure got a lot darker this past week.

---

We will hold our annual holiday party for paid subscribers to our IWC Round-Up, IWC columnists, and donors to Iowa Capital Dispatch. (Additional guests can attend for a donation (to be given at the event).

The Tom and Ruth Harkin Center, home of the Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement at Drake University, is a model of inclusion and accessibility to public policy research and citizen engagement. It is made possible by the exceptional vision, leadership, and collaboration of individuals committed to social justice and sound decision-making.

Paid subscribers: Click here to register.
Not yet a paid subscriber? Click here, and thank you for your support:

Where: Harkin Institute on the campus of Drake University,  2800 University Ave., Des Moines 

When: December 13, 5-8 p.m.

What: Appetizers, a short program, and great conversation.