Further to Ewen MacAskill's piece about the Des Moines Register endorsing Mitt Romney, it is clear that the Republican contender is winning the newspaper endorsement race where it counts.
A list drawn up by Poynter shows that Romney is leading Obama with newspaper backing in the key swing states (11 to 8), though Obama is ahead overall (34-28).
For example, in Florida, five papers have come out for Romney and just two for Obama. But the total circulation of the two Obama-supporting titles is only just short of the total for the five Romney backers.
At least seven papers that supported Obama for president in 2008 have flipped to endorse Romney for president this time around. Aside from the Des Moines Register, the others are the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronicle, the Florida Times-Union, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the South Florida Sun Sentinel and The Tennessean
Looking at the wider picture, the circulation of Obama's 34 newspaper supporters is far greater than that for the 28 Romney papers - 9m compared to 5m.
But, as with Britain, it is very uncertain whether such endorsements make any difference to the election outcome. That doesn't stop the candidates boasting about each endorsement, of course. Any sign of support is welcome.
Sources: Poynter/American Presidency Project
