Monday on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Alabama Media Group’s vice president of content Michelle Holmes offered details on her news organization’s decision to put an editorial on the front page of the Sunday editions of The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and Mobile, AL’s Press-Register.
The editorial criticized Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Roy Moore and urged readers to vote for his opponent Democratic Party nominee Doug Jones.
Holmes justified the decision by saying it was the outlet’s view that “decency comes first.” However, she was also asked by NPR’s Ari Shapiro about their endorsement of Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in a state that went overwhelmingly for Trump, and how that might be perceived as being out of step with Alabamians.
Holmes told Shapiro they were not “out of step” with Alabamians that stood for “decency.”
Partial transcript as follows:
SHAPIRO: Your newspapers took a similar position on Donald Trump, endorsing Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign. And Alabama overwhelmingly voted for Trump. Are you out of step with the voters of your state?
HOLMES: We’re not out of step with the multitudes of Alabamians who stand for decency, who stand for loving their neighbors. One out of 3 people here voted for Hillary Clinton. That’s certainly not going to win any election. But in terms of the fabric of society, we are not the monolithic right-wing state that many outside of Alabama see.
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