The Press: Editors’ Line-Up

Four years ago, when Franklin Roosevelt won his second campaign for the Presidency by the greatest landslide in U. S. history, a major part of the press was against him. New Dealers made many a snide crack about the waning power of the press, created the impression that their man had romped home in spite of the concerted efforts of 85% of the nation’s newspapers.

That any such array of power confronted Mr. Roosevelt in 1936 was a myth exploded last week by Editor & Publisher. In a survey of press sentiment for & against a third term. Editor & Publisher inserted a question to set the record straight: Did you support Roosevelt against Landon in 1936? Of the papers which replied, 60% were Landon followers, 35% backed Roosevelt, 5% were neutral in 1936.

Editor & Publisher queried 1,888 daily newspapers. Of the 1,030 which answered, 66% supported Willkie, a few more than followed Landon in 1936. Franklin Roosevelt’s backing dropped to 20%. Nearly 14% of the papers queried were neutral or still undecided.

Men & Policies. In a survey of its own, TIME last week checked up on the editorial position of 120 dailies in the 41 largest cities of the U. S. The papers canvassed included most of the big-circulation dailies of the nation. Of them 78% were for Willkie, only 9% for Roosevelt, 13% were neutral or undecided.

Remarkable was the situation in the onetime Solid South. Not a single Texas paper was for Roosevelt: eight dailies in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston backed Wendell Willkie, one was neutral. Both Memphis papers, all four papers in New Orleans were for Willkie. Of the eleven papers backing Roosevelt, three are published in New York City.

On a joint defense program for the U. S. and Canada, one of Franklin Roosevelt’s pet policies, opinion was almost as solidly behind the President as it was against him on a third term. Over 71% of the papers were for a defense agreement with Canada, fewer than 3% were opposed, 26% had taken no stand.

Not far behind was sentiment for conscription, on which Candidate Roosevelt, Candidate Willkie see eye to eye. For conscription were 70% of the papers canvassed, opposed were 11%, 19% were neutral. But on the sale of obsolete destroyers to Great Britain the press had not yet made up its majority mind. Less than 43% of the papers TIME surveyed approved the sale, 18% were on record against it. Neutral or undecided were over 39% who kept their opinion to themselves, took no definite stand.

The striking fact was that on all except this one issue the leading editors of the country knew their mind and were prepared to give a landslide verdict.