When US publications become cheerleaders for presidential candidates

American publications are not only reporting on the US election campaigns, they are also becoming cheerleaders for the candidates.

The New York Times has endorsed Joe Biden, so has the Washington Post. American publications have for long been endorsing presidential candidates but should the media tell you who to vote for?

Joe Biden has vowed to "restore the soul of America" it is a painful reminder that the country is weaker, angrier, less hopeful and more divided than it was four years ago. Amid unrelenting chaos, Biden is offering an anxious, exhausted nation something beyond policy or ideology. His campaign is rooted in steadiness, experience, compassion and decency. He would understand that his first duty, always, is to the American people.

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It might sound like lines from Joe Biden's election campaign material but it is not from someone from his team who has made these statements.

It is what an editorial in a leading publication in the United States has said about the Democratic the presidential contender. The New York Times editorial board has endorsed Joe Biden for the US presidency.

The editorial piece says Biden knows that there are no easy answers. He has the experience, temperament and character to guide the nation through this valley into a brighter, more hopeful future. He has our endorsement for the presidency.

It introduces itself as a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values, it is separate from the newsroom, in other words, a group of journalists openly declaring support for an election candidate but since when do journalists tell you who to vote for?

In the United States, it happens all the time as a tradition.

The New York Times has been endorsing presidential candidates since 1860 and it's not alone. Newspapers across the United States have followed this tradition. Newspaper endorsements are specific statements of support for a political candidate through the endorsements newspapers say they aim to educate the masses.

American media remains divided on the question. Earlier this year, America's NBC news said the practice of presidential endorsement by publications must end. It said, "in an era in which most readers don't trust the news media, endorsements are more likely to hurt an organization's journalism than help its readers".

The practice is not limited to just the United States. In Canada, 23 newspapers followed the liberal free press tradition of endorsing a candidate for prime minister in the 2015 federal elections. In the election in 2011, 22 dailies did the same.

In the UK too, editorials in national newspapers tend to make their loyalties known ahead of the election. According to a 2008 study by PEW research centre, almost seven in 10 Americans said their local newspaper's endorsement had no impact on who they vote for and with the oversaturation of social media and polarised media activity, people are probably placing lesser trust in the mainstream media.

In the 2016 US presidential election, it was noted that Hillary Clinton had more than 200 endorsements from daily and weekly newspapers in the United States. Trump had only six endorsements, and yet he won.

In India, the biases are clear, but formal endorsements are not the practice.