Owner admits LA Times has conflated news and opinion, talks new direction

We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, admitted this week that the newspaper he bought in 2018 was conflating news and opinion and vowed to present a more fair and balanced product moving forward.

Soon-Shiong appeared Thursday on “Fox News @ Night” and said he wanted the news to be reported as “facts” while presenting “voices from all sides” separately.

“If it’s news, it should just be the facts, period. And if it’s an opinion, that’s maybe an opinion of the news, and that’s what I call now a voice,” he said. “And so, we want voices from all sides to be heard, and we want the news to be just the facts.”

(Video Credit: Fox News)

“It is our responsibility to maintain democracy, to have the views of all our California readers, in fact, the views of all the national readers to be aired. Because if we just have the one side, it becomes nothing else but an echo chamber,” Soon-Shiong told Fox News anchor Trace Gallagher.

“And so, it’s going to be risky and difficult,” he continued. “I’m going to take a lot of heat, which I already am, but you know, I come from the position that really it’s important for all voices to be heard.”

The owner was hit with backlash from the left after he quashed the LA Times editorial board’s planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in the closing days of the 2024 election. Three members of the board resigned in protest over the decision.

In a post shared over the weekend on X, Soon-Shiong announced a new editorial board and the direction he will be pursuing.

“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,” he wrote. “Opinions are just that. 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, 2024

A post shared two days after last week’s election suggested that Soon-Shiong has taken the temperature of the room and is ready to respond accordingly.

He posted, “The American people have spoken and [The LA Times] will take the lead to provide factual and balanced coverage as the country heals its division.”

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, 2024

Newspapers have seen subscriptions crater over the last decade and while there is merit to the idea that new media has dated newspapers, they openly cater to the left for the most part and effectively eliminate half the population as potential customers.

Senior Staff Writer – [email protected]
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.

Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.