Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, said he was looking to balance opinion pieces in the publication through new recruits — such as a popular conservative commentator —after deciding not to endorse a presidential candidate this past election cycle.
“I think it’s important for us to differentiate the editorial board is responsible for these opinions on these voices. So, right now, we don’t have an editorial board if we are truly honest about ourselves that are balanced. And so, I’ve gotten beaten up about fair and balance.”
“So, I’m looking for people like Scott Jennings,” Soon-Shiong added.
Jennings, who has been a contributor on CNN since 2017, is a known as conservative commentator and was even floated as potential choice for White House press secretary in President-elect Trump’s administration. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the former president, was announced as the selection on Friday.
The billionaire said he believes the shift in editorial rhetoric is needed to balance the views of the public.
“I think it’s important because the editors are responsible of stories that are told and stories that are not told. Editors have these nuances of the word hatred versus could the president-elect make a real impact,” Soon-Shiong shared on air. “And we need views from both sides. And my goal is not to change that entire editorial board for that — for that perspective.”
Later in the interview, he added that the move could be considered representative of California, which saw major counties which are traditionally left leaning turn red.
“If you look at the 2022 map of California, look at the 2024 map of California, the change has been rather dramatic moving towards the right as well as being very liberal as before,” he concluded. “So, it is our responsibility to maintain democracy to have the views of all our California readers, in fact, the views of all the national readers to be — to be added.”
