The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times gave a scathing defense of his plans to overhaul the “far-left” editorial board after Vice President Kamala Harris blocked it from approving.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong said Harris’ support for Israel’s military action in Gaza was one of the main reasons he declined to endorse the Democrat and said he wants to hire more conservative voices — an odd view considering most conservatives support Jews the state’s war against Hamas terrorists.
However, Soon-Shiong insisted he was seeking a better “balance” as he vowed to replace the remaining editorial board members who did not budge after he killed the endorsement for Harris.
“If we were to be honest with ourselves, our current panel of pundits veered too far to the left, which is fine, but I think in order to have balance, you also have to have someone who would cut right, and more importantly, someone who would wait. in the middle,” Soon-Shiong said.
Last month, it blocked its editorial board from publishing an endorsement of Harris — instead suggesting it print two side-by-side analysis pieces that included the pros and cons of electing Democrat or Republican Donald Trump, who ended up winning decisively.
Thousands canceled their subscriptions in protest and several editorial board members resigned.
The publication has a combined print and digital audience of 4.4 million subscribers, according to analytics firm Meltwater.
Soon-Shiong wrote in X earlier this week that he plans to make his paper “fair and balanced so that all voices are heard and we can respectfully exchange every view of America… from e left right center”.
“Soon. New editorial board. Trust in the media is critical to a strong democracy,” Soon-Shiong wrote in X.
Soon-Shiong, who bought the Times in 2018 for $500 million, told CNN that his plan to revamp the editorial board “isn’t as exciting as firing everybody.” Instead, he said he was “really trying to identify the voices that speak to all Americans.”
He told CNN that the publication needs to make a clearer distinction between its heavy news coverage and its opinion and editorial sections.
“Somebody who’s getting the letter, Gen Z today or something, I don’t know, will understand that this is an opinion,” he said.
“This conflation of news and news opinion sometimes gets confused, and I think that’s part of the problem of why there’s a reduction in trust in the press.”
Last week, the independent site Drop Site News reported that Patrick Soon-Shiong released an internal email to the LA Times saying the Israel-Gaza conflict and administration policies were among the reasons for his decision not to endorse a candidate.
“Has there ever been a time in our history when our nation is knowingly giving weapons to another nation using those weapons to kill children, women, innocent people and to target the press, doctors and medical workers? And the policies that make this possible are supported by both candidates?” he wrote in an email to employees.
The memo followed a New York Times report that his daughter Nika Soon-Shiong, 31, said the family “made the joint decision not to endorse” a candidate because of the Biden-Harris administration’s “blatant financial genocide” in Gaza.
She mentioned her father’s upbringing in his native South Africa during the apartheid era, writing in X: “The temptation is to speak in hushed tones about a case that international courts have called a credible genocide. But this moment calls for opposition to crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and Apartheid – as my parents did in South Africa.”
Patrick Soon-Shiong released a statement shortly after the Times published her article, saying Nika Soon-Shiong “speaks in her personal capacity regarding her opinion.”
“She has no role at The LA Times, nor does she participate in any decisions or discussions with the editorial board, as has been made clear many times,” the paper’s owner said in a statement.
The father later confirmed an earlier report that Harris’ support for the administration’s policies toward Israel and its war in Gaza played a role in his decision not to endorse a nominee.
“Someone had asked me: ‘Was that the reason?’ I said, ‘Well, that wasn’t the only reason.’ Obviously that was one of the reasons, and there are many other reasons, but I think this should be exposed really transparently for all the reasons,” he told CNN.
The Post has sought comment from the LA Times.
Soon-Shiong’s intervention mirrored that of Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, who also prevented his newspaper’s editorial board from endorsing Harris.
Bezos’ move caused about 250,000 of the paper’s readers to cancel their subscriptions.
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