The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times said his newspaper has “mixed news and opinion” and doubled down on his promise to bring in more conservative voices to balance the left-leaning publication.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong — who sparked an internal revolt over his decision to end the paper’s support of Vice President Kamala Harris — said the planned overhaul would move the Times in a direction where “both sides” will be “heard.” and “shall be represented”.”
“If it’s news, it should just be facts, period. And if it’s an opinion, it’s probably an opinion of the news, and that’s what I call a voice now,” Soon-Shiong said during an interview. “Fox News @ Night” host trace gallagher on thursday
“And so, we want voices from all sides to be heard, and we want the news to just be the facts.”
Soon-Shiong — who bought the 142-year-old paper in 2018 for $500 million — said his hope was to reflect both sides of the political debate, as CNN recently did with Republican strategist Scott Jennings to bring in conservative voices. Was. ,
“We have a responsibility to preserve democracy, to broadcast the views of all our California readers, indeed, to air the views of all national readers. Because if we only have one side, it becomes nothing but an echo chamber,” he told armstrong,
“And so, it is going to be risky and difficult. I’m going to take a lot of heat, which I already do, but you know, I come from a position that it’s really important for all voices to be heard.
The statement echoed Soon-Shiong’s post on To exchange respectfully.”
“Coming soon. A new editorial board. Trust in the media is vital for a strong democracy.”
Earlier this week, he said Harris’ Support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza was one of the main The reasons he refused To support the Democrats.
But his desire to add more conservative voices seems to conflict with his reason for eliminating support, as many right-wing voices support the Jewish state’s war against Hamas terrorists.
In any case, Soon-Shiong has several positions to fill on the editorial board after three members resigned in protest due to his non-support of the newspaper. The newspaper had previously endorsed Democratic candidates in every presidential race since 2008.
like the times, Washington Post also decided not to endorse any candidate In the 2024 presidential race. The results came to light, including Resignation of a handful of employees, simultaneously A staggering loss of over 250,000 readers, Who canceled their membership in protest.
The newspaper’s publisher, William Lewis, stated that the job of his publication is to “provide non-partisan news for all Americans through the newsroom, and provide thoughtful, reported news from our opinion team to help our readers make up their own minds.” “Above all, our job as the newspaper of the most important country in the world is to be independent.”
