An informal email survey and website scan of AAN’s 123 American papers finds that 57 have made presidential endorsements this year, and all of them are endorsing Barack Obama.
It’s quite a difference from eight years ago, when a similar survey found alties’ endorsements split evenly between Democratic candidate Al Gore and Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. Nader, who is running for the third straight election this year as an independent, garnered no endorsements from AAN members. Nor did this year’s Green nominees, Cynthia McKinney.
Although many AAN members continue to maintain that it is not their place to make endorsements at all, and still more only endorse on local races, many papers jumped in and endorsed for president for the first time ever (or in some time) this year.
Chicago alt-weekly Newcity was one of those papers. “In our two-plus decades of publishing, we have never endorsed any candidate for any office. We do not have expectations we’ll do so again,” its endorsement reads. “But never before have we encountered a candidate so compelling on so many levels, or a time for change so imperative.”
Other papers, like New Orleans’ Gambit Weekly, are sticking to their guns and not endorsing. “Gambit does not endorse — and has never endorsed — in national races, which includes presidential contests,” editor Kevin Allman writes, “for the simple reason that we’re a locally-focused publication.”
Here are, to the best of our knowledge*, the papers that have endorsed Barack Obama for president:
Alibi (Albuquerque)
Arkansas Times
The Athens News
Austin Chronicle
Baltimore City Paper
Boston Phoenix
Boulder Weekly
C-Ville Weekly (Charlottesville, Va.)
Charleston City Paper
Chico News & Review
Cincinnati CityBeat
City Newspaper (Rochester)
City Pulse (Lansing)
Colorado Springs Independent
Creative Loafing (Atlanta)
Creative Loafing (Charlotte)
Creative Loafing (Sarasota)
Creative Loafing (Tampa)
Eugene Weekly
Flagpole Magazine (Athens, Ga.)
Independent Weekly (N.C.)
Jackson Free Press
Las Vegas CityLife
Las Vegas Weekly
Long Island Press
Los Angeles CityBeat
Memphis Flyer
Metro Pulse
Metro Santa Cruz
Metro Silicon Valley
Metro Times (Detroit)
Metroland (Albany)
Monterey County Weekly
Newcity (Chicago)
North Bay Bohemian
Orlando Weekly
Pacific Northwest Inlander
Palo Alto Weekly
Pasadena Weekly
The Portland Mecury
Portland Phoenix
Providence Phoenix
Random Lengths News
Reno News & Review
Sacramento News & Review
San Diego CityBeat
San Francisco Bay Guardian
Santa Barbara Independent
Santa Fe Reporter
Scene (Cleveland)
Shepherd Express (Milwaukee)
The Source Weekly (Bend, Ore.)
The Stranger (Seattle)
Tucson Weekly
Ventura County Reporter
Willamette Week (Portland, Ore.)
Worcester Magazine
*If your paper endorsed and is not listed, or vice versa, email Jon Whiten (jwhiten (at) aan.org).
