Headline Roundup • October 25th, 2024
LA Times Editorial Chief Resigns Over Suppressed Harris Endorsement
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Mariel Garza, the editorials editor of the Los Angeles Times (Lean Left bias), resigned on Wednesday following the paper's decision not to endorse any candidate in the current election cycle.
The Details: An endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris had been drafted, and the sudden shift away from tradition prompted Garza to quit her position. In Garza's resignation letter, she argued that the avoidance of endorsing a presidential candidate undermined the integrity of the editorial board. Further, she suggested that each endorsement the Times published might be viewed as a decree by the owner rather than a decision made by journalists.
For Context: The Times, owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong, has traditionally supported Democratic candidates since 2008. However, despite the editorial board's intention to support Harris this year, the endorsement was quashed. The Times is the biggest newspaper in Harris’s home state of California and had previously endorsed her for her Senate and Attorney General races. Amidst this fallout, some subscribers took to social media claiming they would cancel their subscriptions.
How The Media Covered It: Bloomberg (Lean Left bias) stated the facts without offering much commentary. On the other hand, the Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) presented the story with a slightly critical tone against the Times, quoting heavily from Garza's resignation letter advocating the importance of journalistic independence. Daily Kos (Left bias) focused on Garza's beliefs that endorsing a candidate is a necessity during such 'dangerous times' and emphasized her stand against suppressing the voice of journalists.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Los Angeles Times Editorials Editor Mariel Garza quit on Wednesday, weeks after the paper’s owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, announced it would not endorse any candidate this cycle.
With Election Day two weeks away, Garza took issue with her employer shifting away from the tradition of endorsing presidential candidates. The paper has backed the Democratic candidate since 2008. The Los Angeles Times is the biggest newspaper in Vice President Kamala Harris’s home state of California and endorsed Harris when she ran for the Senate in 2016 and for the office of attorney general before that.
Damian Dovarganes
The head of The Los Angeles Times’s editorial board resigned on Wednesday after the paper’s owner quashed a presidential endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris. In an interview with The Columbia Journalism Review, Mariel Garza, who held the title editorials editor, said she had quit because “I want to make it clear that I am not OK with us being silent. In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.” Ms. Garza said the editorial board had planned to endorse Ms. Harris, but Dr....
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