Recommendations, election news separate
On Wednesday morning,
Chris Tomlinson, a Business columnist in the Chronicle newsroom, published a column that was pretty tough on U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
On Wednesday morning, our Editorial Board endorsed Crenshaw for re-election.
Cognitive dissonance? Was I upset?
Actually, I laughed out loud. At the Chronicle, we try often to signal to readers that our Editorial Board, which is responsible for the Opinion and Outlook pages, is separate and independent from the newsroom.
The Opinion staffers, led by Lisa Falkenberg, report directly to Publisher John McKeon, not to me. So there was no discussion between the two staffs in advance about different takes on the congressman from Houston.
The newsroom, where Tomlinson toils, does have columnists who express their opinions, such as when he challenged Crenshaw’s thinking on wind power and solar energy. But the vast majority of our journalists are mining for news, for facts, for thematic stories and for deep investigative pieces.
And, of course, during an election year, we are on the prowl for meaty political stories that can help voters understand the issues and the candidates. The frame for many of these issues looks different than usual because of this very
strange and unpredictable year, but we’re here to try to help sort things out.
To start, our digital Voter Guide at our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com, has deep information on how to vote, where to vote and information on candidates in every local race. (It soon will also have links to all the Editorial Board’s recommendations on candidates, such as its endorsement of Crenshaw.)
Our columnists, such as Tomlinson in Business and Erica Grieder in Metro, have regularly offered their takes on candidates and campaigns.
Our reporters have produced multiple pieces about issues important to the presidential campaign. We have explored why white evangelicals tend to flock to President Donald Trump. We’ve explained why voter turnout along the border could be decisive for Joe Biden’s campaign in Texas. On Thursday online and today in print, we’re examining Trump’s efforts at deregulation.
We want these stories to be informative and provocative, but they are not conceived or written with an agenda in mind. I do, of course, occasionally hear from readers who beg to differ, particularly when it comes to a president whose unconventional actions and pronouncements routinely invite scrutiny. I usually enjoy those exchanges, which offer additional chances to explain our efforts.
We all have personal opinions, of course. But I’ve been clear with our staff: Unless you’re a columnist, keep those opinions out of your work. This summer, I sent a memo to the newsroom outlining my expectations, reminding everyone that there was no place in the newsroom for playing political favorites.
With less than a month to go before the election, we’ll keep working hard to provide you with information that’s helpful as you prepare to vote. Thank you for reading, and for subscribing.