Fact Checking

(Media News) LA Times Editorials Editor Resigns Over Blocked Harris Endorsement

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Mariel Garza, editorials editor at the Los Angeles Times, resigned after the newspaper’s owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, blocked the editorial board’s plans to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Garza, in an interview with Columbia Journalism Review, expressed frustration with the paper’s decision to remain neutral in what she described as “dangerous times.” She said, “In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.”

Soon-Shiong defended the decision on the social platform X, stating the board was tasked with providing a factual comparison of Harris and former President Donald Trump’s policies rather than issuing an endorsement. Soon-Shiong accepted the board’s decision to stay silent.

The LA Times Guild expressed concerns over Soon-Shiong’s decision and subsequent remarks, stating it was “unfair” to blame the editorial board for the lack of endorsement. The Trump campaign quickly seized on Garza’s departure, noting the paper’s silence despite its previous support of Harris in Senate and state attorney general races.

This resignation follows that of Executive Editor Kevin Merida, who left 10 months earlier amid challenges in reaching digital subscriber goals.