After deciding not to endorse presidential candidates in the past election cycle, Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shione plans to balance the paper's opinion pieces through new hires, including popular conservative commentators. He said that he is doing so.
“I think it's important for us to distinguish that the editorial board is responsible for these opinions. So if we're really honest about ourselves as balanced, at this point the editorial board is responsible for these opinions. There's no committee. So I've been hammered about fairness and balance.”
“So I'm looking for someone like Scott Jennings,” Soon-Shiong added.
Jennings, who has been writing for CNN since 2017, is known as a conservative commentator and has been floated as a candidate for White House press secretary in the Trump administration. On Friday, the former president's spokeswoman, Caroline Leavitt, was announced as the pick.
The billionaire publication owner said he believes a change in editorial rhetoric is necessary to balance public opinion.
“I think this is important because editors are responsible for the stories that get told and the stories that don't get told. They feel the nuances of the word hate and how the next president can actually make an impact.” '', Soon-Shiong said on the broadcast. “And we need input from both sides. And my goal is not to change the entire editorial board because of that, because of that perspective.”
Later in the interview, he added that the move could be seen as representative of California, where major counties that traditionally lean left have turned deep red.
“If you look at a map of California in 2022, and you look at a map of California in 2024, not only is it very liberal as before, but you see a pretty dramatic shift to the right.” he concluded. “So it is our responsibility to preserve our democracy to add the voices of all our readers in California and, in fact, to all our readers across the country.”
