National newspaper endorsements probably don’t make much of a difference in presidential elections (local ones are a very different story). So in terms of the outcome on Nov. 5, the billionaire owners of the Washington Post and LA Times spiking endorsements of Kamala Harris that their respective editorial boards had already drafted probably won’t move the needle. But in terms of what we can expect from America’s media moguls in the face of a growing authoritarian movement, this was a lights-flashing-red moment—and it should mobilize everyone who cares about democracy.
Because this is not just about LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and WaPo owner Jeff Bezos. It’s about whether we can afford a press dependent on billionaires and corporate bean-counters; a press whose courage (or spinelessness) depend on how the owner is feeling that day.
