Dispute Over Unpublished Article Preceded Editor's Resignation from LA Times

Owner Patrick Soon-Shiong reportedly attempted to dissuade Kevin Merida from pursuing a story about a California doctor, leading to tensions that culminated in Merida's departure and subsequent layoffs.

• Kevin Merida, former editor of the Los Angeles Times, reportedly had a dispute with the paper's owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, over an unpublished article about a California doctor.
• Soon-Shiong allegedly tried to discourage Merida from pursuing the story about the doctor, who is an acquaintance of Soon-Shiong.
• The dispute occurred one month before Merida's resignation from the Times.
• Following Merida's departure, the Times laid off about 115 journalists, which is 20 percent of their newsroom.
• Soon-Shiong has invested almost $1 billion in the paper since acquiring it in 2018.

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