No Endorsements Here
If anyone is expecting that this radio station in general, or me in particular, will be endorsing any candidates leading up to either this November’s municipal and school board elections…or the presidential precinct caucuses in January…let’s put that to rest today—there will be no endorsements or favoritism of any kind coming from this space.
Others may do what they wish, and that’s fine…so long as everyone is above board about it. But we’re not in the endorsement business.
For one thing, I’m a registered Independent and will not be participating in either party’s caucus in January…so it’s beyond hypocritical for me to tell you who to support when I’m not participating. Similarly, I don’t live in Waterloo or Cedar Falls…so why should voters there care who I might endorse for municipal elections in those cities?
Beyond that, I maintain that our job is to bring as many voices to the table as possible…giving each of them a full hearing…so that you can make decisions for yourselves. If I announce I’m supporting one candidate, then what credibility do I have when others come on the air—if they even will come on the air in that case.
This radio station is licensed by the federal government, so while newspapers that do not have that level of government oversight may endorse candidates, we cannot. We are licensed to act in the “public interest, convenience and necessity,” a standard that has been in the law for nearly a century now. What that exactly means has changed over time, but it still does not mean the station takes sides.
So while some national folks state their preferences…they have a different role than those of us who are in this first-in-the-nation state. And while some state officials pledge neutrality but lean strongly toward one candidate or another…not so here.
Our job is to bring you the information. Yours is to decide who you support. We do encourage everyone to be informed before voting…and we’ll do our part to help that as things move along.
