LA Times owner prohibits endorsement of Harris
Date
10/27/2024 6:42:16 AM
(MENAFN) In a surprising move, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, has prohibited the newspaper’s editorial board from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, according to a report by Semafor. This decision marks a significant departure from the paper's long-standing history of supporting Democratic candidates over the past two decades.
Sources familiar with the situation indicated that the editorial board was initially preparing to back Harris, but Executive Editor Terry Tang intervened earlier this month, enforcing an order from Soon-Shiong that no endorsement be published. This decision is particularly notable as the LA Times is considered the leading newspaper in California, Harris's home state.
Soon-Shiong, a billionaire entrepreneur and medical doctor originally from South Africa, purchased the struggling LA Times in 2018. Since then, he has worked to reverse the newspaper's financial decline, which had been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the paper's advertising revenue has suffered significantly, leading to the layoffs of over 100 employees earlier this year.
Blocking the endorsement of Harris is likely to be perceived as a significant setback for the vice president, especially given the LA Times's historical influence in California politics. The newspaper has a complex endorsement history; it consistently supported Republican candidates from the 1880s until 1972, when it famously endorsed Richard Nixon amid the Watergate scandal. This controversial choice led to internal dissent among reporters, and the LA Times did not issue another presidential endorsement until backing Barack Obama in 2008. Since then, it has exclusively endorsed Democratic candidates.
Last week, the editorial board acknowledged the importance of the upcoming election, calling it “the most consequential election in a generation.” However, instead of addressing the presidential race, the board chose to endorse a range of candidates for various positions, predominantly within the Democratic Party, spanning from school boards to the U.S. Senate.
The decision by Soon-Shiong to block Harris’s endorsement raises questions about the editorial independence of the LA Times and reflects the broader challenges facing media organizations in navigating political landscapes while maintaining financial viability.
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