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The Orientation of Newspaper Endorsements in U.S. Elections, 1940--2002
Author(s): Stephen Ansolabehere;Rebecca Lessem;James M. Snyder, Jr.
Source: Journal:Quarterly Journal of Political Science ISSN Print:1554-0626, ISSN Online:1554-0634 Publisher:Now Publishers Volume 1 Number 4,
Document Type: Article Pages: 12 (393-404) DOI: 10.1561/100.00000009
Abstract: We study newspaper endorsements in state and federal
elections, using a new data set with two samples. One sample
focuses on big-city newspapers in the United States from 1940 to
2002. A second sample examines 92 newspapers, representing all
regions of the country, over the period 1986 to 2002. We document
two important features of newspaper endorsements. First,
newspapers have shifted from strongly favoring Republicans in the
1940s and 1950s, to dividing their editorial endorsements roughly
equally between the parties. Today, Democratic candidates are
about 10\% more likely to receive an endorsement than Republican
candidates. Second, newspaper editorials have come to favor
heavily those already in office. Incumbents today receive the
endorsement about 90\% of the time. In the 1940s, incumbents
received endorsements only about 60\% of the time.
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