The Los Angeles Times will undergo a post-election makeover to increase reader’s trust, says owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong — starting with the editorial board.
“If we were honest with ourselves, our current board of opinion writers veered very left, which is fine,” the biomedical tycoon told CNN earlier this week. “But I think in order to have balance you also need to have somebody who would trend right, and more importantly somebody that would trend in the middle.”
He plans to identify and elevate opinion writers “that speak to all Americans” and better highlight the difference between opinion and news pieces.
The overhaul follows Soon-Shiong’s controversial decision to stop the Times’ from publishing a unilateral endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
“The Editorial Board was provided the opportunity to draft a factual analysis of all the positive and negative policies by each candidate during their tenures at the White House … and provide their understanding of the policies and plans enunciated by the candidates during this campaign,” Soon-Shiong explained on X.
“Instead of adopting this path as suggested, the Editorial Board chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision.”
The outlet faced stiff reprisals. Editorials editor Maria Garza resigned outright, taking two veteran opinion writers with her, and thousands of readers cancelled their subscriptions in protest. But the backlash hasn’t changed the businessman’s mind.
“I think endorsements should be based on factual analysis and really transparent exposure of the basis of the endorsement,” he told CNN, “rather than … group think.”
When asked whether he considered the loss of subscribers a “disaster,” Soon-Shiong revealed,
Amazon creator Jeff Bezos made similar comments after barring his paper, The Washington Post, from endorsing a candidate.
“No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, ‘I’m going with Newspaper A’s endorsement,’” Bezos leveled enraged readers and staffers. “What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence.”
Soon-Shiong and Bezos’ perspectives reflect a Gallup poll showing people across the political spectrum trust media less than ever before. This growing disconnect further explains why pollsters and mainstream media outlets overwhelmingly failed to predict and interpret voters’ overwhelming conservative shift.
Media outlets that don’t understand, or even demean, their readers don’t flourish. Legacy media will continue to flounder until attitudes like Bezos’ and Soon-Shiong’s become normal, not exceptional.
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