The Los Angeles Times wo n’t endorse the 2024 presidential election. The document has for the first moment since 2008 refused to support any presidential candidate.
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Executive director Terry Tang, a person with knowledge of the situation, informed editorial board team earlier this month that the papers do not endorse a candidate for president this cycle, a decision that was made by the paper’s owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a doctor who made his fortune in the healthcare industry,” according to Semafor’s Max Tani.
There is disagreement attached to this choice, which was made at the last second by Soon-Shiong, His non-endorsement went against the wishes of the L. A. the Times editorial table, who was prepared to support Kamala Harris.
An L. A. We do not remark on internal discussions or decisions about commentaries or testimonials, according to a Times director.
Soon-Shiong’s child Nika is a pro-Palestinian, extreme left activist who has coddled the far-left employees in the newspaper, emboldening their protection of the Gaza warfare and other far-left reasons.
It would n’t be the first time since he bought the paper in 2018 that owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong had overruled the wishes of the paper’s editorial board. The paper met with Democratic presidential candidates for interviews in 2020 in an effort to find a candidate for the job. However, Soon-Shiong overruled its leadership and declared that there would be no support in the primary competition after choosing to support Elizabeth Warren in the Democratic presidential primary ( the report chose Joe Biden in the general election ).
The report also raised eyebrows over some local endorsements it made in recent poll cycles of candidates supported by Soon-Shiong’s child Nika, whose progressive views on racial justice and the Gaza war have occasionally encouraged and encouraged some on staff and and and different points , caused resistance. At the time, the report told Politico that there was no engagement from Nika Soon-Shiong in the testimonials.
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That’s no good. Apparently, Patrick leans strongly on Nika when it comes to newsroom elections, which in the modern era has a huge impact on the editorial approach of a magazine.
In February, when a myth of the L. A. Times being sold surfaced, employees panicked. Nika Soon-Shiong was the one to calm the situation and command what was about to turn into a protest.
In an internet to The Daily Beast, Nika wrote,” It felt important to speak out because of how destructive that kind of propaganda can be to those who have given us the security of the papers.” A Tweet appeared to be a very small point because it’s much easier to spread rumors than to say that something might occur.
The LA Times has not previously declined to accept applicants in a national public vote. The report declined to accept any presidential candidates from the mid-1970s until 2008 because of internal dissension regarding Richard Nixon’s decision to support him for reelection months after the Watergate incident, a choice publisher Otis Chandler later admitted regrets. Prior to that, the Times had a nearly century-long streak of Democratic political endorsements that date back to the paper’s foundation in 1881.
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It’s a surprise that the Times wo n’t endorse Harris. Publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong reportedly yanked the editor board’s support at the last minute, but it is known that he made billions in the healthcare sector and may not have liked Harris ‘ prior support of” Medicare for all.”