The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times said his paper has “conflated 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 kill the paper’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris — said the planned overhaul would take the Times in a direction where “both sides” will be “heard” and “represented.”
“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,” Soon-Shiong said during an interview with “Fox News @ Night” hostTrace Gallagher on Thursday
“And so, we want voices from all sides to be heard, and we want the news to be just the facts.”
Soon-Shiong — who bought the 142-year-old paper in 2018 for $500 million — added that his hope was to bring in conservative voices the way CNN has recently with Republican strategist Scott Jennings, in order to reflect both sides of the political debate.
“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,” he told Armstrong.
“And so, it’s going to be risky and difficult. 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 statement echoed Soon-Shiong’s post on X over the weekend, when he wrote that he wants a paper that’s “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,” he added.
Earlier this week, he said Harris’ support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza was one of the main reasons he refused to endorse the Democrat.
But his desire to add more conservative voices seems to be at odds with his reason for killing the endorsement, since many right-leaning voices back the Jewish state’s war against Hamas terrorists.
In any case, Soon-Shiong has several openings to fill on the editorial board after the paper’s non-endorsement prompted three members to resign in protest. The newspaper had previously endorsed Democratic candidates in every presidential race since 2008.
Like the Times, the Washington Post also decided not to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential race. Fallout ensued, including the resignation of a handful of staffers, as well as the stunning loss of over 250,000 readers, who canceled their subscriptions in protest.
The paper’s publisher, William Lewis, said the job of his publication is “to provide through the newsroom nonpartisan news for all Americans, and thought-provoking, reported views from our opinion team to help our readers make up their own minds. Most of all, our job as the newspaper of the capital city of the most important country in the world is to be independent. And that is what we are and will be.”