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It’s starting to sound very Roger Ailes over at the Los Angeles Times.
Weeks after the paper’s owner Patrick Soon-Shiong scuttled a planned and penned endorsement of Kamala Harris for president, the billionaire Abraxane creator is now putting a whole new Editorial Board in place.
Pulling Fox News’ old “Fair and Balanced” motto out, Dr. Soon-Shiong took to social media Sunday to praise a reader’s letter slamming LAT columnist LZ Granderson over reasons for Donald Trump‘s election win and then dropped the news of the new Editorial Board “coming soon”
He also noted in the posting: “I will work towards making our paper and media fair and balanced so that all voices are heard and we can respectfully exchange every American’s view ..from left to right to the center. Coming soon. A new Editorial Board. Trust in media is critical for a strong democracy”
Proud that we posted this letter from one of our readers on X. When the President has won the vote of the majority of Americans then ALL voices must be heard. Opinions are just that. I will work towards making our paper and media fair and balanced so that all voices are heard…
— Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong (@DrPatSoonShiong) November 11, 2024On the night after Trump’s admitted remarkable political comeback, the LAT owner didn’t go quite full Fox News, but he was certainly already leaning in:
The American people have spoken and @latimes will take the lead to provide factual and balanced coverage as the country heals its division.
— Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong (@DrPatSoonShiong) November 7, 2024After a series of resignations at the paper that took place following the non-endorsement decision, there are now just a trio of LA Times Guild members still on the current Board. Not exactly a massive leap of faith to presume that they will not be joining the new Board once it is seated out in El Segundo at LAT HQ.
An individual close to events at the LAT told Deadline today that there is “pervasive feeling of despair” at the outlet that has deepened since Dr. Soon-Shiong’s November 10 announcement. “It’s bad to worse, isn’t it, like the whole country,” the individual added in the aftermath of Trump’s return to the White House.
Deadline reached out to the LA Times Media Guild for comment on Dr. Soon-Shiong’s pledge of bringing in a board. The Guild has not responded. If and when we do hear from them, this post will be updated.
However, it is worth noting what the LA Times Media Guild did say on October 25.
“Our newspaper’s owner publicly blamed the members of the Editorial Board for his decision not to endorse, saying incorrectly that ‘they chose to remain silent,'” the Guild stated towards the end of longer statement (read it here). “They did not. They planned an endorsement — one that was rejected. The owner’s action unnecessarily made Editorial Board members vulnerable to harassment, impacting their ability to effectively perform their jobs.”
Read into that what you will.
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