Letter from the editor

Endorsing a lack of endorsements

As we move into the final three months of what has been a seemingly endless election cycle, a few people have asked whether the Eagle will endorse any candidates on the November ballot. We have decided that we will not, and I hope you’ll allow me to explain the reasoning behind that decision.

The most prominent reason is that — to my mind — the whole reason for publications to make an endorsement is based on access. The editors at major publications (New York Times, Denver Post, Chicago Tribune, etc.) have access to candidates that the general public could never get; and in most places this applies to both national and local races.

Here in Montana this is simply not the case. On the national level, suffice it to say that Barack Obama and John McCain are not on my speed dial. For state and local elections, area citizens have nearly the same access that reporters enjoy. It’s certainly not impossible to score at least a few minutes of face time with Senators Tester or Baucus or Congressman Rehberg, even if it’s not always easy. Closer to home, both candidates for the House District 9 seat — Edd Blackler and Scott Reichner — have listed phone numbers and are just as likely to talk about policy with anyone in town as they are with a reporter.

Beyond the issue of access, though, is the issue of being a small paper in a small town with a small staff. Since I function as both a reporter and the editor, it would be an awkward position to endorse a local candidate and then commence to “fairly” cover the election. The division between opinion and news would get too blurry and it would hamper the paper’s ability to report stories in and around Bigfork.

Aside from all that, there’s the simple fact that in this day and age many people find it presumptuous of the press to tell people how to vote.

In the coming months, the Eagle will report on the election and hopefully provide readers with information about the candidates to help them make informed decisions. We can’t (and won’t) cram all the information about all the area races into the issue that hits newsstands the week of the election, so keep your eyes peeled leading up to the vote. We realize having one “election issue” would be a quick resource for readers headed to the polls, but we simply do not have the space for such an endeavor.

For what it’s worth, at various points in the last six months readers have alleged that the Eagle is both a typical liberal media rag and part of a large conservative cover-up. I figure with both sides thinking we disagree with them, we’re doing our job all right.

—Alex Strickland