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Saving the news media means moving beyond the benevolence of billionaires
For the journalism industry, 2024 is off to a brutal start.
Most spectacularly, the Los Angeles Times recently slashed more than 20% of its newsroom.
Though trouble had long been brewing, the layoffs were particularly disheartening because many employees and readers hoped the Times’ billionaire owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, would stay the course in good times and bad – that he would be a steward less interested in turning a profit and more concerned with ensuring the storied publication could serve the public.
According to the LA Times, Soon-Shiong explained that the cuts were necessary because the paper “could no longer lose $30 million to $40 million a…