Los Angeles Times editor resigns after newspaper blogs plan to endorse Harris-Telangana Today

Editorial editor Mariel Garza says she resigned because paper kept quiet about contest in ‘dangerous times’

Los Angeles: The editorial editor of the Los Angeles Times has resigned after the newspaper’s owner blocked the editorial board’s plans to endorse Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a journalism trade publication reported Wednesday.

Mariel Garza said it Columbia Journalism Journal in an interview that he resigned because the time remained silent on the contest in “dangerous times”.

“I’m resigning because I want to make it clear that I’m not okay with us being silent,” Garza said. “In dangerous times, honest people must stand up. That’s how I stand.”

In a post on X that did not directly mention the resignation, LA Times Owner Patrick Soon-Shiong said the board was asked to do a fact-finding of the policies of Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump during his time in the White House.

In addition, “the board was asked to provide (its) understanding of the policies and plans articulated by the candidates during this campaign and their potential effect on the nation over the next four years,” he wrote. “That way, with this clear, nonpartisan information side by side, our readers could decide who would be worthy of being president for the next four years.”

Soon-Shiong, who bought the newspaper in 2018, said the board “chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision.” Garza said Columbia Journalism Journal that the board intended to support Harris and she had drafted an editorial proposal.

So many comments about it @latimes The Editorial Board is not offering a presidential endorsement this year. Let me clarify how this decision came about.

The Editorial Board had the opportunity to clear a factual analysis of all POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies by EACH…

— Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong (@DrPatSoonShiong) October 23, 2024

A LA Times The spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The LA Times Guild Unit Bargaining Committee and Council said it was “deeply troubled by our owner’s decision to block a planned endorsement in the presidential race.” “We are even more concerned that he now unfairly places the blame on Editorial Board members for his decision not to approve,” the union said in a statement. “We are still pressing for answers from newsroom management on behalf of our members.”

Trump’s campaign pounced on Garza’s departure, saying the state’s largest newspaper had refused to endorse the Democratic ticket after supporting Harris in his previous races for Senate and attorney general. ‘state of the United States.

His departure comes about 10 months after then-executive editor Kevin Merida left the paper in what was called a “mutual agreement” to leave.

At the time, the news organization said it had fallen well short of its digital subscriber goals and needed an increase in revenue to sustain the newsroom and its digital operations.