LOS ANGELES—On February 7, 2018, news broke of billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, 64, acquired The Los Angeles Times from Tronc Inc. The sale of the publication officially closed on Saturday, June 16. The Washington Post wrote that due to high turnovers and “clash between management.”
Dr. Soon-Shiong wrote a published note to his newly acquired newspaper readers on Sunday saying, “My family and I are truly honored and privileged to assume the mantle of these storied institutions of democracy.”
Soon-Shiong indicated his recent purchase of the Los Angeles Times was “to preserve the integrity, honesty, and fairness…” The LA Times has been in existence since 1881. The publication will move from downtown Los Angeles to El Segundo. Dr. Patrick was quoted by the Times saying, “I view this as a 100-year plan.”
The buyout of the publication was to prevent the Los Angeles Times from having to make more cutbacks to its staff. The newspaper downsized from 1,300 staff members to 400 staff members. One reader of the Los Angeles Times tweeted, “We’ll hold you to it!”
