My argument was much along the lines of the idea of the front page not being able to do investigative reporting due to the sales department worrying about the advertisers. How much objectivity can a newspaper have in its front page reporting if in the editorial section (which in the Washington Post, my "local" paper, is the last 2 pages of Section A) the paper itself is touting a particular candidate. The editorial column authors, certainly. It's what they are there for, and even the Post usually has a token conservative or two. But I don't believe the newspaper, as an entity supposedly providing "objective" news, should be endorsing a particular candidate. Television and radio stations don't endorse candidates (that I have seen) and public radio here in the Washington, D.C. metro area was recently rather horrified that they were required by law to run political ads. There is also the issue of whether it is undue influence on its readers because it is "The Washington Post."

Cindy