Nassau GOP Boycotts Newsday over Bias, Credibility: "Trust the Herald and Leader newspapers"

By Leader Staff

The Republican candidates in Nassau County held a press conference announcing a boycott of Newsday’s editorial board endorsement process after the paper published a cartoon mocking the assassination of political commentator Charlie Kirk, instead urging voters to read and trust the North Shore Leader and Herald newspapers as more reliable sources of news.

Newsday published an offensive cartoon mocking the assassination of Kirk - featuring a drawing of a blood-spattered podium and chair. After a firestorm of criticism led by Suffolk GOP Chair Jesse Garcia, Newsday retracted the cartoon and issued a public apology.

“This was domestic terrorism — a man was killed for his beliefs. And Newsday thinks that’s funny?” County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. “We won’t dignify a process run by people who mock tragedy.”

“This isn’t politics. It’s about decency, " added Nassau DA Anne Donnelly. "When a major newspaper makes light of an assassination, it fails its readers, it fails our community, and it fails the standard of journalism itself."

Republicans highlighted past controversies from Newsday, such as an openly racist 2024 cartoon depicting County Legislator Mazi Pilip as an “African elephant” (Pilip was born in Ethiopia); and allegations of covering-up antisemitism linked to a Democrat fundraiser.

"The Kirk cartoon was the last straw," noted Republican leaders.

“They [Newsday] reduced me to racist stereotypes in 2024, and now they’ve mocked the assassination of Charlie Kirk," stated Mazi Pilip. "This is not journalism — it’s cruelty.”

North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena accused Newsday of showing “a disregard for honesty, integrity, and respect."

The boycott reflects a declining trust in Newsday as an institution. Once the arbiter of Long Island politics, Newsday’s endorsement was considered a coveted prize. Now, GOP candidates are openly rejecting it.

"That vacuum is being filled by community-based outlets such as The North Shore Leader and other town papers," noted the Nassau GOP in a press release. "Candidates would rather be on the front page of the Herald than get a pat on the head from Newsday.”

“The story here isn’t Republicans versus Newsday,” one media analyst explained. “It’s about the paper losing credibility, and with it, its monopoly. The balance of power in Long Island journalism is shifting to smaller, nimbler, more community-grounded outlets.”

The fact that the North Shore Leader exposed the frauds of Congressman George Santos - breaking a major national news story - reflects that shift in good journalism to more locally-connected newspapers.

Newsday's role as the once-dominant voice in Long Island’s political and cultural conversation is being challenged — and local papers such as the North Shore Leader and other weekly papers are now filling the gap.