Two more LA Times editorial board members resign after the paper withholds a Harris endorsement

LOS ANGELES -- Two much members of nan Los Angeles Times editorial committee person resigned aft nan newspaper’s proprietor blocked nan board's scheme to endorse Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

Veteran journalists Robert Greene and Karin Klein announced their resignations Thursday, a time aft nan editorial page editor Mariel Garza near successful protestation complete LA Times proprietor Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong's determination not to endorse a candidate.

Greene, a Pulitzer Prize victor for editorial writing, said successful his resignation missive shared pinch nan Columbia Journalism Review that he was “deeply disappointed” successful nan determination not to endorse Harris.

“I admit that it is nan owner’s determination to make,” he wrote. “But it wounded peculiarly because 1 of nan candidates, Donald Trump, has demonstrated specified hostility to principles that are cardinal to publicity — respect for nan truth and reverence for democracy.”

Garza told nan Columbia Journalism Review that she resigned because nan Times was remaining silent connected nan statesmanlike title successful “dangerous times.”

“I americium resigning because I want to make it clear that I americium not OK pinch america being silent,” Garza said. “In vulnerable times, honorable group request to guidelines up. This is really I’m opinionated up.”

Garza said nan committee had intended to endorse Harris and that she had drafted nan outline of a projected editorial but that it was blocked by Soon-Shiong.

Soon-Shiong said successful a station connected nan societal media level X that nan committee was asked to do a actual study of nan policies of Harris and Republican erstwhile President Donald Trump during their clip astatine nan White House.

Soon-Shiong, who bought nan insubstantial successful 2018 and is simply a personnel of nan editorial board, said nan committee “chose to stay silent and I accepted their decision.”

Greene, who wrote astir water, drought, and Los Angeles County government, among different topics, said he was besides concerned pinch Soon-Shiong's assertion that nan editorial committee had chosen to enactment silent.

Green wrote that a argumentation study would person to beryllium done by nan paper's news broadside and that nan intent of an editorial committee is “to return a guidelines and take sides it persuasively.”

“I near successful consequence to nan refusal to return a stand, and to nan incorrect assertion that nan editorial committee had made a choice," Green wrote.

Klein said successful a connection posted connected Facebook that her determination to resign besides came aft seeing Soon-Shiong’s station connected X.

“The determination to resign was made elemental and easy erstwhile he posted connected X yesterday astir his proposal that nan committee create an study of nan positives and negatives of each campaigner and fto nan voters make their ain decisions,” she wrote.

“News broadside does an fantabulous occupation of neutral analysis. That’s not an editorial,” she added.

In an question and reply pinch Spectrum News connected Thursday, Soon-Shiong pushed backmost against disapproval that he censored nan editorial board.

“As an owner, I’m connected nan editorial committee and I shared pinch our editors that possibly this twelvemonth we person a column, a page, 2 pages, if we want, of each nan pros and each nan cons and fto nan readers decide,” Soon-Shiong said.

He said he feared endorsing a campaigner would adhd to nan country's division.

“I want america desperately to aerial each nan voices connected nan sentiment side, connected nan op-ed side,” Soon-Shiong said. “I don’t cognize really (readers) look upon maine aliases our family arsenic ‘ultra progressive’ aliases not, but I’m an independent.”