Several employees at the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post have resigned after the editorial boards of both newspapers withheld their support for presidential candidates.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the LA Times, has blocked the editorial board’s plan to endorse Semaphore’s Kamala Harris. reported Tuesday.
Mariel Garza, the paper’s editorial editor, resigned the next day.
Garza: “I’m resigning because I want to make it clear that our silence is not an issue.” said Columbia Journal Review (CJR). “Dangerous times require honest people to stand up. This is how they are standing up.”
Two more members of the editorial board followed. Veteran reporters Robert Greene and Karin Klein resign Thursday, Associated Press reported.
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The editor of the Los Angeles Times editorial page has resigned after the owner blocked the editorial board from moving forward with an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I am resigning because I want to make it clear that our silence is not an issue. pic.twitter.com/bH3bJ4oKIi
— Yashar Ali🐘 (@yashar) October 23, 2024
The trend continued Friday, with Washington Post publisher William Lewis saying: declared The paper’s editorial board will not support any presidential candidate “in this election.” The same will apply to future presidential elections. ”
“Through our newsroom, we will provide all Americans with nonpartisan news and thought-provoking views from our opinion teams so readers can make their own decisions,” Lewis said.
The editorial board reportedly drafted a letter of support for Kamala Harris before the paper’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, scrapped the paper, Semaphore reported. reported.
Many people, especially liberals, criticized the decision, including WaPo’s former editor-in-chief. martin barron.
“This is a despicable act at the expense of democracy,” Baron wrote to X.
About political support https://t.co/e5OTZhylIE
This is a despicable act that sacrifices democracy. @RealDonaldTrump This would be seen as an invitation to further blackmail the owner @jeffbezos (and more). A disturbing loss of spine in an institution renowned for courage.
— Marty Baron (@PostBaron) October 25, 2024
At least one prominent member of the editorial board, Robert Kagan (husband of former Biden administration assistant secretary of state Victoria Nuland), resigned over the issue. According to Go to NPR. He may be the first of many.
WaPo staff are “furious” about the decision, Semafor’s Max Tani reported. (Related: WaPo reporter publishes hit piece for his own editor before taking top job)
“Some are considering what action to take, from resignations to board resignations to statements. “If you don’t have the heart to own a newspaper, you don’t need to own a newspaper.” one Post Opinion employee told me,” Tani wrote on Twitter.
WaPo opinion staff are outraged by the paper’s decision to support the paper. Some are considering what action to take, such as resigning, resigning from the board, or issuing a statement. “If you don’t have the heart to own a newspaper, don’t do it,” one Post Opinion employee tells me.
— Maxwelltani (@maxwelltani) October 25, 2024
According to NPR’s David Folkenflik, WaPo staffers are “universally furious.”
One noticeably quieter voice is pseudo-conservative WaPo opinion writer Jen Rubin.
Mr. Rubin praised Mr. Garza’s departure from the LA Times and asked, “Where’s the rest?” In Wednesday’s post.
And where is the rest?
— Jen “I’m not going back” Rubin 🥥🌴 (@JRubinBlogger) October 23, 2024
However, as of this writing, the prolific poster (over 129,000 posts on the platform) has not tweeted since WaPo’s announcement.
