Matt K. Lewis argued in a lively commentary for the Los Angeles Times that viciousness is a key trait of the following Trump administration, especially its deportation and governmental cuts. The hammer later swings for anyone, Lewis wrote in the piece. Even those who believed they were swinging it.
But, Lewis ‘ word wasn’t his past. As they have done with view items over the past few months, Times online visitors had the choice to click on a button with the title” Insights,” which set the column’s political definition as “center-left.” Then it provides a similarly produced opposing viewpoint and an AI-generated description, a CliffsNotes variation of the column.
Restricting heritage citizen and migrant admissions is argued in a dissenting debate:” Restricting heritage citizen and migrant admissions is framed as correcting alleged abuse of emigration loopholes, with supporters arguing that these measures protect American workers and resources.
The feature serves as a reminder of changes to opinion reporting made by Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong over the past six months, who has stated he wants the renownedly progressive opinion pages to reveal various viewpoints. He is accused of trying to win over President Donald Trump by reviewers.
Publisher says he doesn’t need an “echo room” Soon-Shiong, a skilled entrepreneur who bought the Times in 2018, resisted backing Democrat Kamala Harris for president last drop and proposed changes to the editor table.
Soon-Shiong told Fox News last fall that “if you just have the one side, it’s just going to be an echo chamber.” He claimed that changing the outlook would be “risky and challenging.” I’m going to put up a lot of heat, which I already am, but I believe it is crucial that everyone’s voices be heard.
Three of the six people who conducted editorial research and writing for the Times, including Mariel Garza, the editor of editorials, resigned in protest of the Harris decision to not endorse them. Carla Hall, the last holdout, left after writing a final column about homeless people she met while covering the issue on March 30. The other three have since since since left. Similar unrest with subscribers was a result of Sun-Shiong’s decision, which was made when Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos decided the paper wouldn’t support a presidential candidate.
Six days a week, The Times used to publish unsigned editorials that reflected the institutional opinions of the newspaper. Soon-Shiong and Terry Tang, the paper’s executive editor, are the only ones on the paper’s editorial board. They’re frequently too busy to write editorials. Soon-Shiong has stated that he will appoint new board members, but it’s not yet known when.
Additionally, he added that the paper was looking for more moderate or conservative columnists. Lewis, a self-described Reagan Republican who only started out as a columnist, thinks he’s a part of that effort. Additionally, Sun-Siong has brought up Republican consultant and CNN commentator Scott Jennings, who has already written columns for a while.
Hillary Manning, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Times, was recently asked about editorial policy, but she reportedly lost her job during a series of layoffs before responding. Other times-management requests for comment, including how readers are responding to “insights,” have been ignored.
Initial inquiries were raised as to whether a “bias meter” as Soon-Shiong put it would apply to both opinion pieces and news articles. However, the publisher confirmed to Times reporter James Rainey in December that the publisher’s statement would only be made in commentary since” Insights” had been made available to readers on March 3.
A gimmick that denigrates readers’ intelligence? In an interview with The Associated Press, Garza, the former editorials editor, said that the concept actually feels like a gimmick.
She said,” I think it could offend both readers and the authors themselves, who would prefer to be categorized in terms that aren’t always helpful.” The notion of a bias meter in and of itself is kind of an insult to intelligence, and I’ve always believed that the opinion page readers were really intelligent.
The online publication immediately posed problems with Gustavo Arellano’s piece about the little-known 100th anniversary of a Ku Klux Klan rally that attracted more than 20 000 people to an Anaheim, California park.
According to one of the AI-generated” Insights,” “local historical accounts occasionally view the 1920s Klan as a product of” white Protestant culture” responding to societal changes rather than an explicitly hate-driven movement.” Another claimed that” critics contend that focusing on the influence of the former Klan detracts from Anaheim’s identity as a diverse city.”
Some at the Times think there will be a reaction to the Times ‘ defense of Klan! was overstated and inaccurate. The perspectives were still removed.
” Insights” frequently have the flat, bloodless tone of early AI. The opposing viewpoint responded to contributor David Helvarg’s column about potential NARA reductions, noting that Trump supporters” say it aligns with broader efforts to shrink government and eliminate programs deemed nonessential.”
More journalists should be hired and put to work, according to Paul Thornton, a former Times ‘ opinion section editor.
Margaret Sullivan, a journalistic columnist, claimed Soon-Shiong promotes viewpoint diversity but actually wants to steer the paper in favor of Trump. His bias meter should “go the way of hot type, the manual typewriter, and the dodo,” Sullivan wrote.
Soon-Shiong refuted claims that he was trying to appease Trump in an interview with Rainey. He argued that people must respect opposing viewpoints. He said,” It’s really important for us to heal the country.” ” We have to stop being so divided.”
A writer who enjoys the label attached to him One writer who doesn’t mind getting” Insights” is Lewis, with one caveat.
He said,” I like it.” ” I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was quite surprised. The reader is given more context by the author. Although it offers counterpoints, I believe they are fairly accurate counterpoints.
Lewis, who was formerly employed by Tucker Carlson’s” Daily Caller,” was amused to see” Insights” judge his most recent column as being “center-left.” He assumed it was because he had a negative opinion of Trump. Lewis argued that it emphasizes the relative meaninglessness of such labels.
He said,” I guess I’m a center-left columnist.” ” At least for a week,” I say.
