As a small local newspaper, The Mercury rarely endorses candidates in national races. But, the past few weeks have made the national race for the Democratic nomination for President a local story, and so we published an endorsement on Sunday of Sen. Barack Obama as our choice for the nomination.
The publication of the piece came just days after city editor and political columnist Tony Phyrillas wrote a column blasting Obama for the "bitter ... clinging" remarks, enforcing the standard that our Opinion page reflects diverse opinions.
Tony's columns are signed and even photo-ed, so it is crystal clear that his words are his own opinions. Editorials are unsigned, leaving people to ask whose opinions are reflected there.
Although "Our View" does not have a byline, it is actually "signed" by the names in the newspaper masthead which appears directly below it in print. As editor, I write most of the editorials in the paper, some with input from other editors or reporters, some not.
We do not have an editorial board. On an issue of the magnitude of election endorsement, it can not be just my personal choice. I discuss it first with the publisher and second with other people in the newsroom. The opinion does not necessarily reflect the exact view of any of us as individuals, but we try to craft a stand that reflects the newspaper and its role in this community.
In the case of the Obama endorsement, I proposed it, agree or disagree, because I thought it was important that the paper acknowledge the significance of this race by taking a stand. I thought it was important to demonstrate to our readers that we care about the outcome and that we want to be a part of the process that leads up to the election of the President of the United States.
We encourage our readers to get involved by voting, so as a community voice, we believe we owe our readers the same responsibility of taking a stand and choosing one candidate or the other.
To vote is to risk making a bad choice. But to fail to vote is to take the easy way out of commitment. As a newspaper, we felt the same commitment to the process.
We had our say. We endorsed Sen. Obama for the Democratic nomination. Now, it's your turn.