LA Times’ Billionaire Owner Forbids Paper’s Editorial Board from Making 2024 Endorsement, Report Claims
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster; AP Photo/Alex Brandon
The Los Angeles Times editorial board will not endorse a candidate for president this year following an order by billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, according to a report.
Semafor’s Max Tani noted Tuesday that the paper had endorsed Democratic Party candidates in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020, but would not make a recommendation for readers for this November’s election. Tani reported:
Last week, the LA Times published its electoral endorsements for the 2024 election. And while the paper noted in its first line that it is “no exaggeration to say this may be the most consequential election in a generation,” that was the only mention of the presidential race in its endorsements.
The paper’s editorial board, which has endorsed Democratic candidates in every presidential race since it first endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2008, was preparing to do so once again this election. But according to two people familiar with the situation, executive editor Terry Tang told editorial board staff earlier this month that the paper would not be endorsing a candidate in the presidential election this cycle, a decision that came from the paper’s owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a doctor who made his fortune in the healthcare industry.
No explanation for Soon-Shiong’s edict was offered. A representative for the paper told Tani, “We do not comment on internal discussions or decisions about editorials or endorsements.”
The Times published its list of endorsements last week, explaining:
It’s no exaggeration to say this may be the most consequential election in a generation. And we’re not just talking about the presidential race. From the top of the ticket to local ballot measures, California voters this year are grappling with major decisions that will shape their lives and communities for years to come.
The paper made no mention of the race for the White House but did endorse Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) bid for the US Senate and a number of other Democrats.
