Reporters from the Los Angeles Times are in open opposition to the newspaper’s owner, who has been labeled as ‘red-pilled’ and recently offered buyouts to the staff.
Patrick Soon-Shiong, the 72-year-old owner of the LA Times, is under fire from his own employees for his remarks targeting staffers who believe they have been working hard without much appreciation, according to a report by StatusNews.
The publication, known for its liberal stance and based in Los Angeles, has been facing financial challenges as its readership declines. Soon-Shiong is struggling to rally employees to support his goal of appealing to readers across the political spectrum.
Last year, the Times slashed over a fifth of its workforce – one of the worst days in the paper’s 142-year history – as it faced nearly $40million in revenue losses.
Soon-Shiong said the loss of over 100 employees ‘was necessary’ as the business is losing $30million to $40million per year.
The 72-year-old biotech billionaire has since tried to reposition the drowning publication by shifting its political lean to include more right-wing ideology.
In attempt to do so, Soon-Shiong is expected to roll out a ‘bias meter’ and has also directed the paper’s left-leaning opinion columnists, namely Robin Abacarian, Jackie Calmes and LZ Granderson, to reduce their already marginal output.
The boss also recently tapped conservative commentator Scott Jennings to serve on the newspaper editorial board.
LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, 72, has launched a series of crackdowns at the award-winning publication in a desperate attempt to revive the struggling news outlet, however his efforts have also welcomed uproar from workers
The traditionally left-leaning publication, headquartered in Los Angeles, has been struggling commercially in recent years due to a decline in readership due to Soon-Shiong’s ongoing battle to get the staff to ‘buy into’ his vision to cater to readers on both sides of the political spectrum
Tensions hit a boiling point when The Free Press ran an explosive interview with Soon-Shiong, where he said ‘dogma’ and ‘false assumptions’ had saturated the outlet over the last few years. He also accused staffers of disguising their personal opinions as fact.
Soon-Shiong revealed he ‘did not believe’ that he had reporters on staff who champion the viewpoint there should be a wall between news and opinion.
The remarks ignited fury among the company’s journalists, who have just spent weeks tirelessly reporting on the unprecedented wildfire coverage.
As one staffer told StatusNews reporter Oliver Darcy: ‘People are in disbelief. Patrick’s public comments… were bad enough, but the buyout offer – especially the timing, given how tirelessly the newsroom has been working since the wildfires began – felt tone deaf at best, and spiteful at worst.’
The company’s Slack channel quickly ignited with commentary blasting Soon-Shiong for his behavior, according to messages obtained by StatusNews reporter Oliver Darcy.
‘Wouldn’t it be great if he talked to his newsroom even once instead of trashing them in countless other outlets?’ one staffer wrote.
‘His trashing of the newsroom at a moment when you all have done the most spectacular work is really something,’ chimed in another.
‘The whole interview is kind of breathtaking,’ added someone else.
‘Please, for the love of God and Otis Chandler, someone with real power push back on this,’ pleaded a fourth staffer.
LA Times opinion writer Robin Abcarian has been asked to reduce her already marginal output at the award-winning publication as part of the company’s shift more to the center of the political spectrum. Pictured: Robin Abcarian meets Patrick Soon-Shiong
Jackie Calmes, a long-time opinion columnist for the LA Times recieves the Gerald Ford Jounalism Award from former US Vice President Dick Cheney
While reducing opinion columnist LZ Granderson’s output, Soon-Shiong tapped conservative commentator Scott Jennings to offset the newspaper’s left-leaning editorial board
In an email sent to staffers on Monday, the outlet announced voluntary buyouts to employees who have been with the newspaper for two years or more amid changes to move the left-leaning outlet more to the middle.
The shocking email said that while the paper remains ‘a vital source of news and information for our city, region, state and beyond, the economic landscape of the media industry continues to be extremely challenging. The difficult financial situation faced by the Times requires us to remain diligent in managing costs.’
‘By offering this voluntary buyout program, we aim to provide those of you who may be interested with the flexibility to explore your options,’ the memo said.
The company-wide buyout offers come after the billionaire owner said last year that he was seeking a better ‘balance’ to the paper’s liberal editorial coverage.
Soon-Shion, who acquired the paper in 2018 for $500million, had great hopes for the historic publication when he bought it and claims he has invested over $1billion since the purchase
Soon-Shiong also received enormous backlash after he blocked his editorial board from publishing an endorsement for the then-Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.
Thousands of readers later canceled their subscriptions in protest and several members of the editorial board resigned.
Soon-Shion, who acquired the paper in 2018 for $500million, had great hopes for the historic publication when he bought it and claims he has invested over $1billion since the purchase.
