Mon. Dec 23rd, 2024

In a surprising twist at the Los Angeles Times, Mariel Garza, the paper’s top editor for the opinion section, has resigned, accusing the paper’s owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, of blocking her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in her presidential run. Garza, known for her progressive views, voiced her frustration at what she described as an attempt by Soon-Shiong to muzzle the paper’s political stance, especially in an election year when she believes a Harris endorsement would be crucial.

The Los Angeles Times, which serves as the flagship newspaper for Southern California, recently announced it would remain neutral in the upcoming presidential race, opting not to endorse either Harris or her GOP rival, Donald Trump. This decision breaks from the paper’s long-standing tradition of endorsing Democratic candidates, reflecting a shift that Garza and many others did not expect.

In her resignation statement to the Columbia Journalism Review, Garza stated, “I am resigning because I want to make it clear that I am not okay with us being silent. In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.” Her comments underscore her concern that staying silent could be perceived as a passive endorsement of Trump, whom she believes is dangerous to American democracy.

According to Garza, she and other editors at the Los Angeles Times had already drafted an editorial endorsing Harris. However, Soon-Shiong reportedly instructed them not to publish it. “I didn’t think we were going to change our readers’ minds—our readers, for the most part, are Harris supporters,” Garza said. “We’re a very liberal paper. I didn’t think we were going to change the outcome of the election in California.” But she added that, regardless of the impact, endorsing Harris was “the logical next step” after a series of editorials critiquing Trump’s leadership.

When pressed about the need for an endorsement when the paper’s stance on Harris is so well-known, Garza stated, “It was a logical next step, and it’s perplexing to readers, and possibly suspicious, that we didn’t endorse her this time.”

Following this news, the Trump campaign quickly seized on the issue, framing it as a setback for Harris. “In Kamala’s own home state, the Los Angeles Times—the state’s largest newspaper—has declined to endorse the Harris-Walz ticket, despite endorsing the Democrat nominees in every election for decades,” a Trump spokesperson said.

Dr. Soon-Shiong, who purchased the Los Angeles Times in 2018, rarely intervenes in editorial decisions, according to staffers. In a statement posted to his social media account, he clarified the reasoning behind his decision to remain neutral. He explained that he had encouraged the editorial board to create a balanced analysis of the policies proposed by both Harris and Trump, giving readers the tools to make their own decisions. He noted that he felt an analysis rather than an endorsement was the appropriate way to allow readers to weigh the options.

In his post on X (formerly Twitter), Soon-Shiong wrote, “So many comments about the @latimes Editorial Board not providing a Presidential endorsement this year. Let me clarify how this decision came about. The Editorial Board was provided the opportunity to draft a factual analysis of all the POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies by EACH candidate during their tenures at the White House, and how these policies affected the nation… Instead of adopting this path as suggested, the Editorial Board chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision.”

With the 2024 election on the horizon, the Los Angeles Times’ decision marks a rare break in precedent.