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☆ Trump's lawyers are hunting for the identities of secret consultants who approved Russiagate Pulitzer Prizes
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

AdvertisementIn an overlooked lawsuit, Donald Trump's lawyers are exhibiting a habit from his White House days: Hunting for anonymous sources. At each turn, a lawyer for the Pulitzer Board members stopped their clients from answering. The journalists whom Trump's lawyers deposed did, however, offer some characterization of the "consultants" who conducted the reviews. The Pulitzer Prize Board is hosted by Columbia University, in Manhattan, which manages the small organization's payroll and offers institutional support. Chad Bowman, a Ballard Spahr attorney representing the Pulitzer board members, directed Business Insider to court filings.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Donald Trump's, Trump, Pulitzer, Robert Mueller, Quincy Bird, Katherine Boo, Boo, Chad R, Bowman, Ballard Spahr, don't, Marjorie Miller, Miller, Weber, Crabb, Wein, Neil Brown, David Remnick, Nicole Carroll, Lee Bollinger, Kevin Merida, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Lee C, Bollinger, David Ake Trump's, Gail Collins, John Daniszewski, Bird, Daniszewski, Dana Canady, doesn't, Bebeto Matthews, Collins, we've, John Durham, Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Brown, Chad Bowman, Ballard, Evan Vucci Trump, Christopher Steele, Jeff Gerth's, Gerth, You've Organizations: Service, Business, The New York Times, Washington Post, American, The Washington Post, Pulitzer, Times, Post, PAC Trump, Columbia University, Mar, Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Tampa Bay Times, New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Global Enterprise, New, AP, Katherine Boo , New York Times, Trump, Republican, Columbia Locations: Russia, Chad, Manhattan, Florida, USA, New York City, Mar, Katherine Boo ,, New York, Palm Beach , Florida, United States, Washington, DC

When Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of The Los Angeles Times, hired Kevin Merida to be the newspaper’s top editor nearly three years ago, he hailed the journalist as someone who would maintain the publication’s high standards and journalistic integrity. Their relationship was strained in part by an incident in December when Dr. Soon-Shiong tried to dissuade Mr. Merida from pursuing a story about a wealthy California doctor and his dog, three people with knowledge of the interactions said. The previously unreported incident occurred as The Los Angeles Times, the largest news organization on the West Coast, struggled to reverse years of losses amid a difficult market for newspapers. Mr. Merida resigned this month. It is not unheard-of for the owner of a publication to be consulted on sensitive reporting, particularly if it could jeopardize the newspaper legally or financially.

Persons: Patrick Soon, Kevin Merida, Shiong, Mr, Dr, Merida Organizations: Los Angeles Times Locations: Merida, California, West Coast

The announcement ends uncertainty about the extent of the cuts, after negotiations were held between the union and Times management. Dr. Soon-Shiong wrote in a note to staff that he and Mr. Merida had “mutually agreed” that Mr. Merida should leave. News of the layoffs — which will shrink the newsroom to the size it was when Dr. Soon-Shiong bought it — was delivered on Tuesday in a brief email to affected employees. “We are saddened to have to take this step and thank you for your work for the Los Angeles Times,” the email said. The cuts affected many departments at The Los Angeles Times, including its business desk, its Washington bureau and its “Fast Break” desk, which covers breaking news.

Persons: Kevin Merida, Shiong, Merida, Shani Hilton, Sara Yasin, — Organizations: The Times, Times, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times Locations: Merida, Washington

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Times plans to lay off 94 newsroom employees — one-fourth of its newsroom staff — starting Tuesday, a number that is substantial but less than feared, the head of the journalists union said. The announcement comes after the LA Times Guild walked off the job last Friday to protest the imminent layoffs, the first newsroom union work stoppage in the newspaper’s 143-year history. Matt Pearce, president of the Media Guild of the West, which encompasses the Times' union, called it a “dark day.” He said the layoffs represent one-fourth of the Times Guild's entire membership. “Many departments and clusters across the newsroom will be heavily hit,” Pearce said in a statement Tuesday. Pearce said the union's bargaining committee would meet with Times management on Wednesday to start discussions about the layoffs as set out by the contract.

Persons: Matt Pearce, ”, ” Pearce, Gray, Dr, Patrick Soon, Kevin Merida, Pearce Organizations: ANGELES, Los Angeles Times, LA Times Guild, Media Guild, Times, Washington Post, NPR, CNN, Vox Media, LA Times, Tribune Co Locations: Challenger

☆ Los Angeles Times slashes more than 20% of newsroom staff as the paper confronts a ‘financial crisis’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The cuts will impact at least 115 journalists, a person familiar with the matter told CNN, or slightly more than 20% of the newsroom. A spokesperson for The Times, which is owned by biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, did not immediately comment. “Today’s decision is painful for all, but it is imperative that we act urgently and take steps to build a sustainable and thriving paper for the next generation,” Soon-Shiong told James. Soon-Shiong told James on Tuesday, however, that he had lost the confidence of Merida and some high-ranking editors he had appointed. The owner also pushed back against the characterization that the newspaper is in trouble, telling James, “We are not in turmoil.

Persons: ”, Matt Pearce, Pearce, Patrick Soon, Shiong, Meg James, “, James, Kevin Merida Organizations: CNN, Los Angeles Times, The Times, Times, Democratic, Monday, LA Times, . Locations: Merida, California

☆ The Los Angeles Times plunges into ‘chaos’ as brutal layoffs loom and senior editors call it quits
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —The Los Angeles Times is in disarray. The Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong-owned newspaper, which houses the largest newsroom in the western U.S., has been thrown into a state of mayhem as severe layoffs loom and senior editorial leaders abruptly call it quits. “I cannot overstate the level of chaos,” one staffer, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, candidly told me on Monday. Then, news of forthcoming mass layoffs ensued, prompting the employee’s union to stage a historic one-day walk out on Friday. “All we are asking for is the opportunity for our newspaper and hardworking journalists to be fairly compensated, and for the L.A. Times to have a fair chance to become a self-sustaining institution.”

Persons: Patrick Soon, “, ”, Kevin Merida, Meg James, — Julia Turner, Sara Yasin, Scott Kraft, Shani Hilton —, alums Hilton, Yasin, Turner, “ Scott, Shiong Organizations: New York CNN, Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed, alums, Kraft, Tribune Publishing, LA Times, LA Times Studios, Democratic, California, . Locations: New York, U.S

☆ Tensions Erupt at Los Angeles Times as Owner Weighs Deep Cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Around twilight on Thursday, Los Angeles Times journalists gathered at Flora, a rooftop bar not far from the paper’s headquarters, to toast their departing editor, Kevin Merida. In the days since, internal negotiations between the company and the employee union have included talk of about 100 job cuts, or about 20 percent of the newsroom, according to two of the people, who also have knowledge about the discussions. It has put journalists at The Times at odds with their owner, the biotechnology billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong. Those relations reached a nadir on Friday when employees walked off the job, in the newsroom’s first union-organized work stoppage in the 142-year history of the newspaper. The tensions escalated even further on Monday, after several of the state’s congressional representatives sent Dr. Soon-Shiong a letter raising concerns about the scope of the cuts and employees received a note informing them that two other senior editors had departed.

Persons: Kevin Merida, Patrick Soon Organizations: Los Angeles Times, The Locations: Flora, Merida

☆ Los Angeles Times staffers to stage one-day walkout to protest impending layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Staffers at the Los Angeles Times will stage a one-day walkout on Friday after the newspaper’s management indicated that it expects to soon lay off employees as it struggles financially. The act of protest will be the first such work stoppage in the outlet’s 143-year history, said the Guild, which represents some 400 employees. “Given the recent discussions about our economic challenges and the potential for staff reductions, we wanted to share an update,” the company said in a memo to employees. The Times has started the new year on rocky footing. News companies across the industry have struggled immensely in recent years, with the vast majority of publishers being forced to undergo painful layoffs as they navigate difficult terrain.

Persons: “, ”, Kevin Merida Organizations: CNN, Los Angeles Times, ” Management, Times, .

☆ Another Billionaire Finds It's Hard to Run a Newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Another billionaire is having a hard time with his newspaper. That's because the LA Times is owned by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, and it is losing money; even though Soon-Shiong is a billionaire, even billionaires have limits. Asked for comment, an LA Times spokesperson said that company leaders "don't generally make forward-looking statements about staffing levels and aren't able to comment further at this time." In 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that Soon-Shiong was considering selling the LA Times itself , but Soon-Shiong said that was not the case. Last fall, for instance, The Washington Post — owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — one of the richest men in the world — underwent giant staff cuts .

Persons: Patrick Soon, Jeff Bezos's Washington, Warren Buffett, —, Kevin Merida, Patrick, Shiong Axelle, Bauer, Griffin, It's, Shiong, doesn't, Jeff Bezos —, Warren Buffett — Organizations: Los Angeles Times, Jeff Bezos's Washington Post, Service, LA Times, LA, San Diego Union, Tribune, Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon, Omaha, Alden Global Capital Locations: Merida, San Diego, Berkshire

☆ Takeaways from the latest controversial and contentious Supreme Court term
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Ariane De Vogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

In his opinion blocking the student debt program, Roberts insisted he is concerned about criticisms of the court. “Make no mistake: Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the Court participates in the process or not,” he warned. In June, the court sided with a cement mixing company that sought to bypass federal labor law and sue a union in state court for the destruction of property caused by striking workers. On Tuesday, when Roberts announced the court’s opinion in Moore v. Harper, liberals and even some conservatives exhaled, relieved that the court was rejecting a controversial Trump-backed election law theory. “Justice Jackson has a different view,” he said at one point.

Persons: John Roberts, Roe, Wade, ” Roberts, Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, he’d, Joe Biden’s, Roberts –, –, It’s, Donald Trump’s, ”, Gorsuch, Neil Gorsuch, Bostock, Lorie Smith, ” Alito, Alito, Dobbs, Jackson, Brett Kavanaugh’s, hadn’t, Paul Singer, Singer, ProPublica, “ we’d, “, ” ProPublica, Thomas, Dick Durbin, Elena Kagan, KBJ, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Dr, Adam Feldman, ” Feldman, Sonia Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, Thomas couldn’t, ” Jenny Hunter, ” Jackson, ‘, Harper, exhaled, Barack Obama, Rick Hasen –, Hasen, Moore, Thomas Long, Kevin Merida, Michael Fletcher, “ Justice Jackson, Thomas ’ “, ” Thomas Organizations: CNN, Civil, Creative, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Street, GOP, Illinois Democrat, pounced, University of North, National Labor Relations, Independent, Trump, Federal, “, UNC Locations: Colorado, Washington , DC, United States, “, Rome, Illinois, American, Moore, North Carolina

☆ Los Angeles Times to Cut More Than 10% of Newsroom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Los Angeles Times is cutting more than 10 percent of its newsroom jobs, its executive editor, Kevin Merida, said on Wednesday. In an email to staff, Mr. Merida said the company was restructuring and would eliminate 74 roles as a result. A spokeswoman for the news organization, Hillary Manning, said about 500 people would remain. “The restructuring stems from the same persistent economic headwinds facing news media across the country,” Mr. Merida said in the email, which was obtained by The New York Times. “Collectively, we have done a vast amount of work as a company to meet the budget and revenue challenges head-on.

Persons: Kevin Merida, Merida, Hillary Manning, Mr Organizations: Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, ” Locations: Merida

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