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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

No Zags: Endorsements, Editorials Are Relics from the Past

No Zags: Candidate endorsement is one of the most antiquated and soon-to-be-extinct functions of the newspaper industry. In a world where anybody can publish any opinion they want and anyone can read it, it seems pretty silly that the "wise old minds" of an editorial board still feel the need to put a newspaper's stamp of approval on a political position. Endorsements are relics of the old-journalism past, as are editorials.

Question: I'm curious about the last sentence of No Zags' comment. Are editorials, indeed, relics. Or are the still important contributions to the public dialogue -- and help form community opinion?



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.