Conventional wisdom holds that journalists are bastions of neutrality who mustn’t root for Team Red or Team Blue, either in word or deed. But during this election season, several hundred news professionals have aligned themselves with Clinton or Trump by personally donating money.
People identified in federal campaign finance filings as journalists, reporters, news editors or television anchors—as well as other donors known to be working in journalism—have combined to give more than $396,000 to the presidential campaigns of Clinton and Trump, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis.
More than 96 percent of that cash has benefited Clinton: About 430 people who work in journalism have, through August, combined to give about $382,000 to the Democratic nominee, the Center for Public Integrity’s analysis indicates.
About 50 identifiable journalists have combined to give about $14,000 to Trump. (Talk radio ideologues and paid TV pundits are not included in the tally.)
Generally, the law obligates federal candidates only to disclose the names of people making contributions of more than $200 during one election cycle. So it’s likely more journalists have given the Clinton and Trump campaigns cash, but in amounts too small to trigger reporting requirements.