Posted on 07/14/2026 3:21:44 PM PDT by Twotone
The Los Angeles Times repeatedly fell months behind on payments to contractors and vendors — even stiffing one of its own marquee hires — as billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong pressed ahead with plans to take the 144-year-old newspaper public, according to a report.
Among those caught in the payment delays was investigative journalist Catherine Herridge, who struggled for months to collect money owed under her lucrative deal with the paper before finally getting paid after what sources described as a prolonged battle, the Status newsletter reported.
A spokesperson for the newspaper appeared to confirm at least some of the allegations, telling Status that the company is current on “the majority” of its payment obligations and that payments are “overwhelmingly being made in accordance with contractual terms for all active accounts.”
“The assertions being made are not accurate,” the newspaper’s rep told Status.
“The Times is current on the majority of its payment obligations, and payments are overwhelmingly being made in accordance with contractual terms for all active accounts.”
The statement came after Status reported that the newspaper had repeatedly failed to pay contractors and vendors on time, with some waiting months to receive payment and only getting paid after escalating the matter to senior executives or threatening further action.
Herridge, the former CBS News and Fox News investigative reporter, joined the Times with considerable fanfare in November of last year after signing what Status described as a lucrative deal to host a weekly investigative series.
But the newsletter reported that the relationship quickly deteriorated behind the scenes as the newspaper fell months behind on payments owed to the veteran investigative reporter.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
I still miss the Herald
I always liked Catherine Herridge. Her reporting always seemed to be truthful and well investigated.
Well, that's reassuring (snark)
Just like Obambie and his library.
It was a shame the Chandler family sold out. The paper was always left wing but it really became a cesspool when the current owner put his lib tard daughter in charge. Apparently he doesn’t pay his bills, either.
She’s first class. Fox never should have let her get away,
After all, at least a handful of notable newspaper publishers or major papers have been sold (or effectively transferred) for $1, typically as distressed assets where the buyer assumes heavy liabilities like pensions, operations, or debts.
This is a symbolic “nominal” price in declining print media, not a comprehensive count—many smaller/local deals go unreported, and exact numbers are hard to pin down historically.
Here are the prominent recent U.S. examples:
• New York Daily News (2017): Sold to Tronc (now Tribune Publishing) for $1, plus assumption of pension and operational liabilities.
• Chicago Sun-Times (2017): Sold to an investor group for $1 (buyer also needed to inject millions to keep it running). It later transitioned to nonprofit ownership.
• West Carroll Gazette (Louisiana, 2026): A 116-year-old local paper bought by a chamber of commerce for $1 to prevent closure.
Other cases exist, such as certain smaller papers or related media properties transferred for only $1 (or equivalent nominal amounts like £1 in the UK), often in struggling local markets. Broader media like Newsweek magazine was also sold for $1 in 2010.
The Times is current on the majority of its payment obligations - for companies that it has contracts with ...
sounds like the thousands of mom-an-pop vendors could be SOOL ...
FOR THOSE MATH CHALLENGED:
51% IS A MAJORITY
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.