Posted on 01/24/2024 6:30:10 AM PST by Red Badger
The Los Angeles Times announced over 100 journalists would be laid off Tuesday as the media outlet lost as much as $40 million a year, according to multiple outlets.
The newspaper will reduce its newsroom staff by 20%, one of the biggest cuts in its 142-year history, the outlet’s Meg James reported. Among those who were axed included the chief and deputy chief of the paper’s Washington, D.C., bureau, along with its business editor, the music editor and books editor.
Two of the paper’s four managing editors resigned prior to the announcement of the layoffs, adding to the uncertainty around the media outlet, according to CNN. Other outlets, including the Washington Post, Vox and Yahoo News, made cuts in 2023, CNN reported in December.
“We have a billionaire who doesn’t understand media and thinks he can cut his way to success,” one staffer told CNN’s Oliver Darcy.
“I cannot overstate the level of chaos,” a second staffer told the CNN media reporter.
A previous round of layoffs in June reduced the newsroom staff by about 13%, NPR reported, with 74 people being laid off.
Staffers at the paper walked out Friday to protest the planned cuts, according to CNN. The L.A. Times Guild did not respond to Tuesday’s announcement, but ripped the previous layoffs in a statement in June.
“Today’s decision is painful for all, but it is imperative that we act urgently and take steps to build a sustainable and thriving paper for the next generation. We are committed to doing so,” owner Patrick Soon-Shiong told James Tuesday, noting that the paper was suffering annual losses of between $30 and $40 million a year.
“The decision to proceed with layoffs was incredibly difficult, and was made only after evaluating all other viable options,” a spokesperson for the outlet told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The Los Angeles Times newsroom remains the largest in the West and one of the largest in the country, and our ambitious journalism will continue.”
“and our ambitious journalism will continue.” That is a lie. They have never had journalism in any way, only propaganda reporters.
That is the real tragedy in this story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Soon-Shiong
Soon-Shiong is the chairman of three nonprofit organizations: the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation, which aims to fund research and erase disparities in access to health care and education;[6] the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Advanced Health, which is focused on changing the way health information is shared;[7] and the Healthcare Transformation Institute, a partnership with the University of Arizona and Arizona State University.[2] He has been a minority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers since 2010, and since June 2018, he has been the owner and executive chairman of the Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune.[8] As of April 2021, Soon-Shiong is estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of US$11.5 billion.[9] He has committed to the Giving Pledge and has pledged to give away at least half of his wealth to philanthropy.[6]
In February 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that Soon-Shiong’s investment firm NantCapital reached a deal to purchase the paper and The San Diego Union-Tribune from Tronc Inc. for “nearly $500 million in cash” as well as the assumption of $90 million in pension obligations.[56] Soon-Shiong, with this acquisition, became one of the first Asian-Americans to be a media proprietor through ownership in a major daily newspaper in the United States.[57] The sale closed on June 18, 2018.[8]
“The Los Angeles Times newsroom remains the largest in the West and one of the largest in the country, and our ambitious journalism will continue.”
And what would that be?
Lets see what is next.
Among those who were axed included the chief and deputy chief of the paper’s Washington, D.C., bureau, along with its business editor, the music editor and books editor.
Today’s urinalists sit at their desk and search for blog postings that support the side of the story they want to tell. They probably consider it work to actually pick up the phone and to confirm a source, which why they hide behind “unconfirmed sources say”
Darn! And they were just about to turn things around and start reporting actual news instead of woke opinion.
Staffers who were laid off have been posting message on X/Twitter all day long. Sarah Wire, Justice Department and national security reporter based in Washington, D.C., wrote that the bureau there “was decimated.”
“They haven’t been filling jobs for two years now and that reduced number was cut even more today,” she wrote. “There are five reporters left covering DC.”
Exactly. Newspapers started fading out several years ago anyway.
Not only do these kids gleefully produce a bunch of BS dictated by their masters, they’re barely literate enough to get the warped point across.
Too many in the eneMedia are just regime mouthpieces. They write crap so sales and subscribers go down. The billionaire owner wants to produce a profitable product. The so-called journalists want to pander to big government to the detriment of the publisher’s customers. The logical solution was to fire the overpaid poor performers. But if he doesn’t instruct the remaining staff to stop with the political tongue-baths, more will have to be jettisoned.
Post of the thread.
He's African American, a refugee from South Africa. The most surprising thing is the LA Times didn't switch to Spanish language 20 years ago.
Even Billionaires have to cut their losses from time to time...................
Something less toxic?
That is precisely the truth of the matter.
The Palace Media
Are there any newspapers today that print objective news?
Is he a Liberal, Conservative, Libertarian or what?...................
Why does it take 5 to cover DC?
All you need is 3, max, for WH, Congress and SCOTUS.................
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.