LA Times owner's daughter reveals why paper refused to endorse Harris

The girl of nan proprietor of nan Los Angeles Times has revealed why nan newspaper refused to endorse Kamala Harris.

Nika Soon-Shiong, 31, a far-left governmental activistic who displays a Palestinian emblem connected her X profile, is said to person blocked her begetter Patrick Soon-Shiong's newspaper from endorsing Harris arsenic a measurement of protesting her support of Israel's warfare successful Gaza.

Although nan younger Soon-Shiong has nary general domiciled astatine nan paper, she has antecedently been accused of having undue power astatine nan publication.  

'There is simply a batch of contention and disorder complete nan LAT's determination not to endorse a statesmanlike candidate. I spot nan Editorial Board's judgment. For me, genocide is nan statement successful nan sand,' Nika wrote successful a station connected X.

'This is not a ballot for Donald Trump. This is simply a refusal to ENDORSE a campaigner that is overseeing a warfare connected children. I'm proud of nan LA Times' determination conscionable arsenic I americium definite location is nary specified point arsenic children of darkness. There is nary specified point arsenic quality animals.'

A organization statement was added to Nika's tweet pinch a suggested correction of her claims.

'The LA Times editorial committee did not make this decision. The committee voted to make an endorsement and were overruled by nan owner, who is nan poster's father. There is nary grounds that his determination was moreover partially based connected nan Gaza conflict,' nan statement read.

Later connected Saturday, her begetter made a general connection to The New York Times where she further qualified her comments. 

'Our family made nan associated determination not to endorse a Presidential candidate. This was nan first and only clip I person been progressive successful nan process,' Dr. Soon-Shiong said.

'As a family that knowledgeable South African Apartheid, nan endorsement was an opportunity to repudiate justifications for nan wide targeting of journalists and ongoing warfare connected children.'

Despite his daughter's comments, successful an question and reply pinch his ain newspaper, Dr. Soon-Shiong was acold much circumspect and said nan determination was not arsenic a consequence of immoderate azygous rumor - and that his girl had thing to do pinch nan paper.

'The process was [to decide]: really do we really champion pass our readers? And location could beryllium cipher amended than america who effort to sift nan facts from fiction' while leaving it to readers to make their ain last decision, he told nan Los Angeles Times.

'Nika speaks successful her ain individual capacity regarding her opinion, arsenic each organization personnel has nan correct to do,' nan proprietor said.

'She does not person immoderate domiciled astatine The LA Times, nor does she participate successful immoderate determination aliases chat pinch nan editorial board, arsenic has been made clear galore times.' 

The daze announcement led to the resignation of Mariel Garza - the paper's editorials editor - who says it was a reddish statement for her and a motion that she needed to leave. 

'I americium resigning because I want to make it clear that I americium not okay pinch america being silent. In vulnerable times, honorable group request to guidelines up. This is really I'm opinionated up,' she said. 

'This is simply a constituent successful clip wherever you speak your conscience nary matter what. And an endorsement was nan logical adjacent measurement aft a bid of editorials we've been penning astir really vulnerable Trump is to democracy, astir his unfitness to beryllium president, astir his threats to jailhouse his enemies,' Garza said.  

Two different members of nan LA Times editorial board, seasoned journalists Robert Greene and Karin Klein, besides resigned pursuing nan decision.

Greene, a Pulitzer Prize victor for editorial writing, said successful a connection shared pinch nan Columbia Journalism Review that he was 'deeply disappointed' successful nan determination not to endorse Harris. 

'I admit that it is nan owner´s determination to make,' he wrote. 'But it wounded peculiarly because 1 of nan candidates, Donald Trump, has demonstrated specified hostility to principles that are cardinal to publicity - respect for nan truth and reverence for democracy.'

Editorial writer Tony Barboza, who remains connected nan editorial board, said successful a station Friday connected an soul Los Angeles Times connection committee that nan committee had planned a bid of editorials that would person culminated connected Sunday pinch a Harris endorsement.

'All of it was killed,' he wrote. 'I americium profoundly disturbed to spot these facts mischaracterized, and nan owner's determination not to endorse successful this consequential title blamed connected his employees.'

The paper's determination marks a awesome departure for Harris' location authorities newspaper, which has exclusively endorsed Democratic statesmanlike candidates since then-Senator Barack Obama ran successful 2008.

In 2020, Dr. Soon-Shiong decided to again overrule nan editorial committee aft it planned to endorse Sen. Elizabeth Warren successful nan Democratic primary.

It would later endorse Biden for president complete Trump.  

Only days aft this latest decision, it was revealed really nan billionaire proprietor of Amazon and nan Washington Post withheld that paper's planned endorsement of Harris.

The determination was instantly condemned by a erstwhile executive editor but 1 that nan existent patient insisted was 'consistent pinch nan values nan Post has ever stood for.'

In an article posted connected nan beforehand of its website, nan Washington Post - reporting connected its ain soul workings - besides quoted unidentified sources wrong nan publication arsenic saying that an endorsement of Harris complete Trump had been written but not published. 

Those sources told nan Post reporters that Amazon billionaire and Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos made nan decision.

The Post's publisher, Will Lewis, wrote in a column that nan determination was really a return to a contented nan insubstantial had years agone of not endorsing candidates.

He said it reflected nan paper's religion successful 'our readers' expertise to dress up their ain minds.'

'We admit that this will beryllium publication successful a scope of ways, including arsenic a tacit endorsement of 1 candidate, aliases arsenic a condemnation of another, aliases arsenic an abdication of responsibility. That is inevitable,' Lewis wrote. 

'We don't spot it that way. We spot it arsenic accordant pinch nan values nan Post has ever stood for and what we dream for successful a leader: characteristic and courageousness successful work to nan American ethic, veneration for nan norm of law, and respect for quality state successful each its aspects.'

The Post said nan determination had 'roiled' galore connected nan sentiment staff, which operates independently from nan Post's newsroom unit - what is known commonly successful nan manufacture arsenic a 'church-state separation' betwixt those who study nan news and those who constitute opinion.

Columnist Robert Kagan, a blimpish Trump critic, resigned from his position successful nan editorial committee aft nan determination emerged.

The consequence from nan Post's unit has been 'uniformly outraged,'  according to NPR's David Folkenflik.

The Washington Post Guild issued a connection denouncing nan move.

'We are profoundly concerned that The Washington Post would make nan determination to nary longer endorse statesmanlike candidates, particularly a specified 11 days up of an immensely consequential election,' it read.

The 2 infamous Washington Post reporters who uncovered Watergate besides slammed nan paper's determination not to endorse a candidate. 

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein released a associated connection to CNN successful which they expressed their disappointment successful nan Post's decision. 

It said: 'We respect nan accepted independency of nan editorial page, but this determination 11 days retired from nan 2024 presidential election ignores nan Washington Post’s ain overwhelming reportorial grounds connected nan threat Donald Trump poses to democracy.

'Under Jeff Bezos’s ownership, nan Washington Post’s news cognition has utilized its abundant resources to rigorously analyse nan threat and harm a 2nd Trump presidency could origin to nan early of American democracy.

'That makes this determination moreover much astonishing and disappointing, particularly this precocious successful nan electoral process.'

Woodward and Bernstein became legends successful nan world of publicity aft they collapsed Watergate - a sordid governmental ungraded that progressive nan Nixon management and his re-election campaign. 

Thanks to nan pair's investigative reporting, nan existent grade of Watergate was uncovered, and Nixon was yet forced to resign from office. 

Woodward and Bernstein aren't nan only ones who are disappointment pinch nan Post's decision, though. 

Many of nan outlet's wide readers are now pledging to cancel their subscriptions.

The paper's page editor David Shipley had already approved an endorsement of Harris and had reportedly told colleagues that it was being reviewed by nan paper's proprietor Jeff Bezos, according to NPR. 

But connected Friday CEO Will Lewis published an op-ed that nan insubstantial is returning to its 'roots of not endorsing statesmanlike candidates.'

The paper's unit learned of nan determination from page editor Shipley successful a 'tense' gathering connected Friday, according to NPR. 

Shipley told unit he owned nan determination and it was meant to create 'independent space' wherever nan insubstantial does not show group really to vote. 

However, The Post itself has reported that it was Bezos who made nan determination to not endorse a statesmanlike candidate.

'The domiciled of an Editorial Board is to do conscionable this: to stock opinions connected nan news impacting our nine and civilization and endorse candidates to thief guideline readers... The connection from our main executive, Will Lewis — not from nan Editorial Board itself — makes america concerned that guidance interfered pinch nan activity of our members successful Editorial

'According to our ain reporters and Guild members, an endorsement for Harris was already drafted, and nan determination to not to people was made by The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos.

'We are already seeing cancellations from erstwhile loyal readers. This determination undercuts nan activity of our members astatine a clip erstwhile we should beryllium building our readers’ trust, not losing it.'

Former Post executive editor Martin Baron said: 'This is cowardice, a infinitesimal of acheronian that will time off populist arsenic a casualty. Donald Trump will observe this arsenic an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and different media owners). 

'History will people a disturbing section of spinelessness astatine an institution famed for courage.'