Hundreds of thousands of people are reading, sharing and debating The Dallas Morning News' two presidential recommendation editorials this week, where, for the first time in 80 years, the paper is supporting a Democrat for the nation's highest office.

We're hearing from a lot of readers who agree or disagree with the newspaper's position. That's good. It's also prompting people to ask why newspapers make recommendations in the first place.

The glib response is to refer above to the first sentence in this column. But the real answer is so much more important: The Dallas Morning News is committed to helping citizens make informed choices about political offices.

The Internet has been a wonderful thing, opening up the public square to so many more voices. But it has also meant that, particularly during election season, we're bombarded with opinions, news stories and political ads.

That cacophony of voices does not diminish the role of newspapers' candidate recommendations. If anything, it makes them more important. The Dallas Morning News is committed to continuing the practice.

But aren't newspapers supposed to gather facts and assemble them into unbiased news stories? Absolutely — and that's what our newsroom does every day. However, the Editorial Department is wholly independent from the newsroom; its mission is different. Our goal is to help shape the city's agenda, to get people talking about difficult and important topics.

Our presidential recommendations may garner the most national attention, especially given this recommendation in this election cycle. But the work we do in the races on the rest of the ballot is just as important, probably more so.

To prepare for this general election, for example, our editorial board has collected questionnaires from scores of candidates running for office in North Texas; they will be published soon in our online Voter Guide. We are also in the process of meeting in person with the candidates in 40 races across the state. The questionnaires, sit-down interviews and our additional research help inform our recommendations. It's an incredible amount of work, but one we will continue to make time for; citizens deserve the chance to make more informed decisions about who governs them.

This has been a traditional role of American newspapers for centuries, and it's one The Dallas Morning News is proud to uphold.