A Los Angeles Times columnist made headlines after quitting the newspaper, citing concerns that the publication has appeased President-elect Donald Trump in its reporting. In a scathing Substack newsletter, Harry Litman argued that the paper had compromised its editorial integrity by giving Trump attention and credibility.
Litman, who has written for the Times for 15 years, criticized its owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, for “currying favor” with Trump in a “shameful capitulation.” His resignation symbolized a protest of the paper, which he argued was once a voice of progressivism.
“I don’t want to continue to work for a paper that is appeasing Trump and facilitating his assault on democratic rule for craven reasons,” Litman wrote. “My resignation is a protest and visceral reaction against the conduct of the paper’s owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.”
His resignation comes after Shiong barred employees from publishing a drafted endorsement article of Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, which Litman described as "brutal, humiliative, and unprofessional." In addition, he announced that he would bring more conservative voices to the paper, prompting three other editorial board members to quit their jobs at the company. The LA Times also did away with its “The Case Against Trump” series.
“He wanted to hedge his bets in case Trump won — not even to protect the paper’s fortunes but rather his multi-billion-dollar holdings in other fields,” Litman wrote. “Soon-Shiong threw the paper to the wolves. That was cowardly.”
According to the New York Post, more than 2,000 readers canceled their subscriptions after Soon-Shiong removed Harris’ endorsement, citing ethical concerns over leadership choices.
“This is not just about balancing perspectives; it's about honoring the truth,” Litman said, arguing that trust within the media landscape is on a narrow edge.
Most recently, Soon-Shiong announced that he plans to introduce an AI-powered bias meter at the top of each article, which would label articles as liberal, neutral, or conservative. He also announced that Trump supporter Scott Jennings would join the paper’s editorial board.
“If we were honest with ourselves, our current board of opinion writers veered very left, which is fine, but I think in order to have balance, you also need to have somebody who would trend right, and more importantly, somebody that would trend in the middle,” Soon-Shiong said.