A column in the March 3 issue of Time magazine by managing editor Rick Stengel argues that newspapers should drop their long-standing policies of endorsing candidates for elected office. Mr. Stengel confesses to not understanding why newspapers continue this tradition, suggesting the practice may come from the 19th century when many papers were affiliated with a political party, but asserts it is no longer relevant and actually undermines newspaper credibility.

Mr. Stengel further states that “readers, especially young readers, question the objectivity of newspapers,” and that “young news consumers … prize objectivity.” That position is hard to reconcile with the rise of the blogosphere, where self-styled “citizen journalists,” who regularly deride newspapers as “old media,” weave observation, facts, commentary and opinion all within a single paragraph.

If newspapers take Mr. Stengel’s advice and refrain from endorsing candidates for elected office, why should they stop there? Surely it’s not proper, then, to support one budget-cutting plan over another, or to disagree with a city council’s choice to turn a park into a mall, for fear of confusing the reader about news coverage of the same matters.

Readers of the Bangor Daily News and other newspapers are sophisticated enough to know they will find balanced reporting on the news pages, and opinion, commentary and analysis on the editorial and OpEd pages. Just as readers understand the difference between a sports columnist urging a change in the structure of the basketball tournament and a news story about the Maine Principals’ Association’s decisions, they understand that if a newspaper editorial endorses one candidate over another, they can trust reporters to write fairly about all the candidates.

Mr. Stengel reveals that his magazine urges its writers to “express a point of view in their stories. They’re experts, they’ve done their homework, and I think it’s fair for writers to suggest that after thoroughly reviewing the candidates’ policies on health care, they find one more practical than another.”

Newspaper Editorial Page staff also do their homework, often meeting and speaking with candidates, elected officials and special interest groups. Readers rely on newspaper editorials to sort out highly complex matters. Based on whether or not they agree with the values and principles expressed in this space, they can follow endorsement or deliberately vote the other way. The exercise of reading, absorbing and judging the merits of an argument can be an end in itself.

If a reader disagrees with an editorial position, he or she can – and will, by the dozens daily – write a letter to the editor. Or submit an OpEd column. Editorial pages are a venue for this give-and-take. They should provoke thought, challenge assumptions and can actually help clarify a reader’s opinion – even if it is in opposition to that of the newspaper.