By Oliver Darcy
The MAGA-curious owner, who drew controversy when he blocked the newspaper’s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris, has waded further into its operations since the November election, according to new information I have learned and public remarks the billionaire made Wednesday during a media appearance with right-wing personality Scott Jennings. The meddling has alarmed staffers, some of whom now harbor concerns that the billionaire presents an active danger to the paper they once believed he might help rescue.
“The man who was supposed to be our savior has turned into what now feels like the biggest internal threat to the paper,” one staffer confided in me Wednesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity, like others, because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
This story is based on nearly a dozen conversations over the last week with current and former staffers at the newspaper. The staffers described a publication depleted of its spirit in which employees are “offended,” “confused,” and “frustrated.” After a year of turbulence in which the Times underwent painful layoffs and lost top editor Kevin Merida, along with several other high-ranking editorial leaders, staffers are now coming to terms with their rule-by-tweet owner using the newspaper as an apparent vehicle to appeal to Donald Trump. Several veteran staffers told me that morale has never been lower, with some people even wondering whether the newspaper will be disfigured beyond recognition under this new era of Soon-Shiong’s reign.
“We’ve gone through ups and downs,” one longtime staffer told me. “But in previous times, there were always people who saw the upside. It is different now.”
There certainly is plenty of cause to be alarmed. Soon-Shiong, who once fashioned himself as a Black Lives Matter-supporting vaccine proponent, has morphed into a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Jennings fanboy. Since Trump’s victory in November, Soon-Shiong has turned to X to criticize the news media, praise Trump’s cabinet picks, and appeal to a MAGA audience. The change in behavior has confounded his journalists, who wonder what happened to the Soon-Shiong whose newspaper enforced strict Covid restrictions and emphasized its support for social justice causes.
Nevertheless, journalists at the Times respect that Soon-Shiong is entitled to his own political views. What has concerned them is that he has simultaneously started to exert more influence over the broadsheet’s operations, seeking to marry his worrisome views about the news media with how the newspaper carries out its work.
One disturbing example came after the newspaper published an opinion piece in November about Elon Musk that Soon-Shiong did not care for, people familiar with the matter told me. The piece, written by Times opinion contributor Virginia Heffernan, carried the headline, “Elon Musk bought himself a starring role in Trump’s second term. What could go wrong?”
While the headline seemed innocuous, Soon-Shiong expressed dismay over it, according to the people familiar with the matter. The headline was allowed to remain unchanged. But, as a result, the people said, a new rule was put into place: Prior to publishing opinion stories, the headlines must be emailed over to Soon-Shiong, where he can then choose to weigh in. While it is normal for newspaper owners to influence the opinion wing of a newspaper, it is highly unusual for an owner to have article headlines sent to them ahead of publication for review.
Soon-Shiong’s online musings have also produced a chilling effect at the newspaper, both on the opinion side and in the newsroom, according to several people I spoke with. On the opinion front, a person familiar with the matter told me that editors have actually toned down certain articles because they don’t want “to piss off Patrick.” Separately, in the newsroom, while some reporters said they haven’t noticed any impact, others told me his public remarks are having an effect. One staffer told me that when they recently worked on a politics-adjacent story, they had Soon-Shiong in the back of their mind.
“I was thinking, I hope he thinks the story is fine — something I’ve never considered before,” the staffer explained.
When it comes to managing news organizations, leaders know very well that they do not need to stand in the newsroom and issue explicit directives to influence coverage. Through public remarks, it becomes evident to staffers what the boss is expecting. And that always bleeds into how a newsroom approaches the news, influencing which stories get covered, in addition to their tone and tenor.
Soon-Shiong does also plan to get directly involved with how the Times presents its news stories to readers. Speaking to Jennings as the latter hosted a radio show Wednesday, the billionaire revealed that, behind the scenes, he is working on developing a “bias meter” powered by artificial intelligence that will be placed on both opinion and news stories. Soon-Shiong said that the hope is to roll out the new feature, which will use the technology to seemingly warn readers that his own reporters are biased, as early as next month.
“Whether in news or opinion … you have a bias meter,” Soon-Shiong explained to Jennings. “So that someone could understand as a reader that the source of the article has some level of bias. … And then … the reader can press a button and get both sides of that exact same story, based on that story, and then give comments.”
Suffice to say, but when the journalists at the Times heard the “breaking news” that Soon-Shiong delivered to Jennings, they spiraled even further. “People are now deeply fucking concerned,” one staffer bluntly told me Wednesday night.
A spokesperson for the Times did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Wednesday about the “bias meter” and the directive for opinion staffers to send Soon-Shiong headlines prior to publication. In fact, the Times’ public relations department has conspicuously gone dark over the last several weeks, not even so much as acknowledging requests for comment.
The lack of communication from the Times leadership has angered staffers who told me that they are in the dark about their workplace. Executive Editor Terry Tang — who many staffers don’t trust will do enough should Soon-Shiong encroach on its independence — has held small virtual meetings with employees, but has refrained from convening an all-hands dialogue with her troops. Mostly, employees learn about important matters from Soon-Shiong’s media appearances and tweets.
“It is very Donald Trump,” a staffer told me, describing how Soon-Shiong communicates. “Trump, in his first presidency, would just tweet big news out of thin air and we would have to figure out what is going on. That’s what it’s like with Patrick. He just announces things.”
Another staffer quipped, “The group texts are definitely very active. There is a ripple effect when a tweet goes out.”
The abysmal climate inside the newspaper has led to staffers heading for the exits, with employees who are still working at the newspaper being greeted by a constant stream of goodbye notes from their colleagues. “People are quitting left and right,” one staffer explained. On Monday, I am told, assistant editorial page editor Kerry Cavanaugh sent out a note announcing her departure, marking yet another loss for the section.
“I feel extraordinarily lucky to have worked with such knowledgeable and committed journalists on the editorial board,” Cavanaugh wrote in a goodbye email, which I obtained. “Seeing the departure of talented colleagues and the diminishment of our work over the last month and a half has been heartbreaking.”
It is believed that after all the resignations from the editorial board, which have stemmed from Soon-Shiong’s interference, only two people remain on it. How long they remain in their posts is unclear as well, given that Soon-Shiong told me last week he is revamping the board “from scratch.”
Meanwhile, amid all the tumult associated with Soon-Shiong’s antics, staffers are also frustrated over contract negotiations with management. In fact, the Guild is weighing whether to call for a vote authorizing a strike and holding meetings gauging whether such a motion would have strong support. The Guild notified staffers on Wednesday night that it continues to be at an impasse with management and that the next bargaining session will take place on January 7. At the same time, staffers are deeply worried about the newspaper’s financial state, with the strong concern that more layoffs could occur.
“The tweets are something that grabs attention,” a staffer told me. “But the fear is that the morass of darkness goes much deeper.”
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