The Los Angeles Times has laid off at least 115 journalists in a massive layoff that accounts for just over 20 percent of its newsroom. The move comes as the company struggles to cope with a “financial crisis.”
The head of their union, the Media Guild of the West, Matt Pearce, said that 94 of the people getting their walking papers are unionized employees, which means about one fourth of the union is being laid off. He said the overall number of layoffs was a “devastating” figure, although he conceded that it was lower than the numbers that had been floating around in discussions last week.
A technology columnist for the paper, Brian Merchant, said that the layoffs were a “bloodbath,” adding that his editor and the whole business desk were now gone.
One Washington-based reporter for the L.A. Times, Sarah Wire, wrote on X: “The LA Times Washington bureau was decimated.”
“They haven’t been filling jobs for two years now and that reduced number was cut even more today. There are five reporters left covering DC,” she added.
The paper's owner, biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, told one of the paper's media reporters that the cuts were needed because the paper is losing up to $40 million every year. Last year, 74 newsroom staff were let go.
“Today’s decision is painful for all, but it is imperative that we act urgently and take steps to build a sustainable and thriving paper for the next generation,” he told Meg James.
He added that a one-day walkout that was staged by the employees union last week “did not help” matters.
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The embattled paper has been dealing with a significant financial shortfall, and its top editor recently parted ways with the publication. While Soon-Shiong maintains that the paper is not in trouble and that a solid plan is in place for moving forward, many staffers have described the situation at the paper as chaotic.
Soon-Shiong also placed some of the blame on the shoulders of the publication’s editors. He claims that thousands of the Times’s readers canceled their subscriptions after they decided to stop listing the scores of major sports matches last summer in their print version.
The Los Angeles Times Guild also complained about the makeup of those who were fired, claiming: “The company has reneged on its promises to diversify its ranks since young journalists of color have been disproportionately affected.”
Americans are increasingly turning away from the mainstream media and its false narratives
Although the L.A. Times may be making headlines right now, it is far from the only mainstream media outlet that is suffering. Almost 2,700 journalism jobs were cut last year as layoffs hit most major newsrooms, including NBC News, CNN, Buzzfeed, the Washington Post and ABC News.
It’s not surprising to see the mainstream media fall apart as Americans become increasingly disillusioned with their biased reporting and willingness to parrot the narratives that benefit the highest bidder. This was on full display when the mainstream media repeated government narratives about COVID-19 vaccines being perfectly safe while avoiding reporting on the negative side effects experienced by many people to keep the pharmaceutical ad money rolling in. Coverage of the pandemic, presidential elections and Black Lives Matter protests have all made it increasingly clear that much of the media is heavily influenced by the government as well as the political views of the journalists behind it.
With a survey carried out last year by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights finding that nearly three quarters of American adults believe the news media is creating more political polarization in our country, it won’t be surprising to see the fake news corporate media continue to implode.
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