Saving the news media means moving beyond the benevolence of billionaires
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
Rodney Benson, New York University and Victor Pickard, University of Pennsylvania
(THE CONVERSATION) 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 year.”