If they can't endorse Presidential candidates without interviewing them

KNS is a paper in a state that's pretty much a lock for McCain.

Beyond that, they're pretty much a wire service paper for anything outside East Tennessee anyway. What chance would they have of getting an interview with McCain or Obama?

If so, how do you distinguish unbiased silence from total censorship?

More so than any newspaper I have ever read the News Sentinel is guilty of the sins of omission.

This raises it to a new level. The McElroy era is unprecedented. It is really a shame that there is not a scholastic study of the News Sentinel. They are breaking new ground in getting away from journalism and tending towards being an advertorial.

Is it just me, or does the News Sentinel remind you of CityView magazine?

McElroy's argument is a straw man. Following that logic (that endorsements contribute to polarization), a newspaper shouldn't have an editorial page.

The only thing that should be printed in that section are those retarded letters to the editor. While some are timely and helpful most are as stupid as what one will read on a blog.

No, and I resent your obnoxious and arrogant attitude about my response. I have never been comfortable with a newspaper, anywhere, doing this, and it takes away any credibility that they have in being neutral about reporting the news. Newspapers are were a person can get real news, not the television. Good grief, what is it with liberals and their fascination with Fox News. The only reason a person needs to know about them is if one worked in politics and connected the data between the viewership numbers and voter demographics. Otherwise, they are just a media enterprise, owned by a conglomerate and trying to make a buck. They are about ratings, as all of them are so turn off your television and pick up a paper why don't you? Better yet, take off your ideological glasses and see the world around you.

c'mon Rachel. you know if somebody is an addict, you need to treat them gingerly. Hopefully, the KNS will embrace recovery and come out for what's best for the country instead of reverting to old habits of partisanship. Not that Hartmann, McElroy, or even Michael "Fred Fred Fred" Silence are GOP loyalists. Perish the thought.

I blogged about the KNS's radical approach to asking its readers whether to endorse over at DKos. The comments are much more interesting than those at the KNS.

My favorite comment: "Wow. You can't get much more mavericky than this. Asking people to vote on how mavericky they think you should be."

and

"Dear readers,
The newspaper business sucks right now. We are on the verge of bankruptcy. Is it OK if we just publish the comics (except Doonesbury), sports, and the obituaries?

Please enjoy the enclosed DVD.

Also, please answer our online poll question: Would you be less likely to vote for Obama if you found out he was a terrorist and wants to raise your taxes?

Sincerely,

The Knoxville News Sentinel

We are living in a disutopian [sic] reality.

Now, is this where I get to accuse you of sloughing off the +10 Mantle of John Galtness? I can never keep track of what the fuck you think. Are you dystopian, utopian, poptopian, or what?

True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler