The Chicago Sun-Times canceling its editorials is a wrong move for the city.
As the Trump administration influences America’s press, major legacy newspapers like the Sun-Times are axing their editorials. The Sun-Times started as a paper for the working class to present an alternative, to provide a democratic voice.
After 75 years, they have decided not to write editorials but to offer letters to the editors and op-ed pieces. This is not good enough. The Sun-Times negates its responsibility as a newspaper. Columnists write columns, not editorial. Not good enough.
Despite still publishing letters to the editor and op-eds, removing editorials undermines a newspaper’s duty to inform and analyze political and civic issues. Political endorsements and objective analysis are crucial for public trust. Are we heading towards AI-generated editorials? An Italian newspaper ‘IL FOGLIO‘ published an edition entirely written by artifical intelligence (AI), but humans checked the bots work. No human writing, just algorithms.
The media landscape is changing, and social platforms like TikTok and Facebook are stepping in. Without a free press, democracy suffers. It’s concerning to see experienced editors leaving due to “editorial” differences, turning mainstream media into propaganda tools rather than upholding the ideals of a Free Press. The future of journalism is uncertain – whose voice will be heard?
The public loses when newspapers cease to write editorials. We need diversity of opinion. We need the press examination. We do not need just storytellers. We need editors, not content creators. Editorials are not created. They are crafted with thought and writing.
Chicago is approaching a one-newspaper town.
