Gannett, the largest chain of newspapers in the U.S., has reached an entirely reasonable policy decision. The chain, which includes USA Today and many local papers including Guam's Pacific Daily News, is getting out of the "opinion" business. The Daily Mail (U.K.) reports:
At a recent editors committee meeting in April, editors said in a presentation: "Readers don’t want us to tell them what to think. They don’t believe we have the expertise to tell anyone what to think on most issues. They perceive us as having a biased agenda."The company will do-away with opinion pieces almost entirely and they will also not allow any endorsement of politicians aside from in local races. They will no longer endorse presidential candidates, or candidates in House and Senate races.
Any opinion a paper expresses may turn off half of its potential audience. Reporting what is happening and allowing the reading public to make up their own minds is financially prudent. Less fun but a better business model.
I view this move by Gannett as an early indicator that boardrooms are waking up to the bitter truth of "get woke, go broke." Another indicator, Disney just fired a senior executive closely associated with Disney's denunciation of the "anti-grooming" law passed in Florida.
Recently Netflix warned its employees that the firm may book entertainment whose content they find offensive. And if they find it intolerable, they should consider alternative employment as Netflix cannot cater to every employee sensitivity.
It isn't too soon to hope the cultural tide could be turning.
Later ... Steve Hayward at Power Line takes a dim view of Gannett's decision about op-ed pages. I am more sanguine, it could work.
