Black Star News Editorial
Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons
The Los Angeles Times maybe facing an internal crisis after South African-born billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong reportedly refused to allow the Times editorial board to endorse Vice-President Kamala Harris for president. Veteran California journalist, Mariel Garza, who worked on the Times editorial board for a decade, resigned in protest.
Why did Soon-Shiong overturn the editorial board’s decision to endorse Vice-President Harris? Could it be because of Soon-Shiong’s friendship with Donald Trump?
Soon-Shiong, on X, denied vetoing the editorial board’s endorsement. He claims “The Editorial Board was provided the opportunity to draft a factual analysis of all the POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies by EACH candidate during their tenures at the White House, and how these policies affected the nation. In addition, the Board was asked to provide their understanding of the policies and plans enunciated by the candidates during this campaign and its potential effect on the nation in the next four years. In this way, with this clear and non-partisan information side-by-side, our readers could decide who would be worthy of being President for the next four years. Instead of adopting this path as suggested, the Editorial Board chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision.”
Soon-Shiong’s statement is disingenuous.
First of all, why is he pretending that analyzing Trump’s presidency to that of Biden’s is somehow fair to Kamala Harris? Is he forgetting that Kamala Harris is a vice-president, who does not have the final say on Biden’s policies?
Secondly, why was he asking the editorial board to do this in the first place? Does he understand the function of editorial boards? Editorial boards, across the country, are always endorsing political candidates. So why, in this case, did he come up with this “non-partisan” non-endorsement nonsense? Didn’t his partiality, for Trump, inform his twisted thinking here?
This particular phrasing by Soon-Shiong is also very revealing “Instead of adopting this path as suggested, the Editorial Board chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision.”
Hmm. Was “this path” being “suggested” or being dictated? Moreover, does he realize this statement suggests he is a liar when he states he didn’t block the editorial board from endorsing Kamala Harris? Didn’t he, in fact, do just that by asking them to do this “non-partisan” analysis?
The Los Angeles Times editorial board wanted to do something that is entirely within the purview of their responsibilities: editorialize and endorse the person who they think would be the better choice to run this country for the next four years. Editorial boards are tasked with giving their opinions. Why shouldn’t they give their opinions about something as consequential as who should be the next president of America?
Instead, some backward billionaire, who knows nothing about journalism, decides it is his right to interfere in the journalistic process. Worse of all, he may well have done this to solidify his friendship with Trump.
With people like Patrick Soon-Shiong owning major news outlets is there any wonder why American journalism is failing America?
