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 review would move the Times in a direction where “both sides” would be “heard.” and “to be represented”. .”
“If it’s news, it should only be facts, period. And if it’s an opinion, that’s probably a news opinion, and that’s what I now call a voice,” Soon-Shiong said during an interview with 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 be just facts.”
Soon-Shiong — who bought the 142-year-old newspaper in 2018 for $500 million — added that his hope was to bring in conservative voices, as CNN has recently done with Republican strategist Scott Jennings, to reflect both sides of the debate. political. .
“It is our responsibility to preserve democracy, to have the views of all our California readers, in fact, the views of all national readers, to be aired. Because if we only have one side, it becomes nothing but an echo chamber,” he told Armstrong.
“And so, it will be dangerous and difficult. I’m going to take a lot of heat, as I already am, but you know, I come from the position that it’s really important that all voices are heard.”
The statement echoed Soon-Shiong’s post on X over the weekend, when he wrote that he wants a newspaper that is “fair and balanced so that all voices are heard and we can respectfully exchange the views of every American … from left to right to center”.
“Soon. New editorial board. Trust in the media is critical to a strong democracy,” he added.
Earlier this week, he said Harris’ support for Israel’s military action in Gaza was one of the main reasons he refused to endorse the Democrat.
But his desire to add more conservative voices seems at odds with his reason for killing the endorsement, as many right-leaning voices support the Jewish state’s fight against Hamas terrorists.
In any case, Soon-Shiong has several openings to fill on the editorial board after the paper’s disapproval led to three members resigning 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. Consequences followed, including the resignation of a handful of employees, as well as the staggering loss of over 250,000 readers who canceled their subscriptions in protest.
The paper’s publisher, William Lewis, said his publication’s mission is “to provide editorially nonpartisan news for all Americans and opinion reported by our opinion team to help our readers make up their own minds.” Above all, our job as the capital newspaper of the most important country in the world is to be independent. And that is who we are and will be.”
#Times #billionaire #owner #doubles #pledge #bring #balance #leftleaning #paper #Fox #News #interview #Confused #news #opinion
Image Source : nypost.com