L.A. TIMES EDITOR STEPPING DOWN AFTER 2 1⁄2 YEARS
When he joined the Los Angeles Times as its executive editor nearly three years ago, Kevin Merida was hailed as a leader who would restore calm to a newsroom that had been buffeted by costcutting and corporate ownership battles.
Now he’s exiting with little warning, an abrupt departure that leaves the largest news organization in the West in a state of flux.
Merida told staff members Tuesday that he was stepping down “after considerable soul-searching about my career.”
He did not specify exactly why he was leaving, but he did say that his last day would be Friday.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the biotechnology billionaire who owns the Los Angeles Times, said in a note to the newspaper’s staff that he and Merida had “mutually agreed” that Merida should leave.
“Given the persistent challenges we face, it is now imperative that we all work together to build a sustainable business that allows for growth and innovation,” SoonShiong wrote.
In recent months, Merida has been at odds with members of the Soon-Shiong family on a variety of matters, including editorial decisions and business priorities, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
Merida and the Soon-Shiong family have clashed over his decision to restrict journalists who signed a letter condemning Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks from covering the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the people said. Some members of the SoonShiong family raised objections to Merida’s decision, one of the people said, and they were unable to reach a resolution with Merida and even discussed selling the newspaper. Budgeting for 2024 has also led to conflicts, according to the people.
A spokesperson for the Times declined to comment on tensions between Merida and the SoonShiongs, adding that the Times wasn’t for sale.
Merida, 66, was named the top editor of the Times in May 2021, after previously working as a top editor at The Washington Post and ESPN.
Under his leadership, the Times won three Pulitzer Prizes, including two in 2023.
Merida was hand-picked by Soon-Shiong, who purchased the Times and The San Diego UnionTribune in 2018 for $500 million.
But the going has been difficult for the SoonShiongs, as the L.A. paper has grappled with economic headwinds that have afflicted the entire media industry. In June, the Times announced it was cutting more than 10 percent of its newsroom staff of more than 550. In July, the family sold the UnionTribune to MediaNews Group, a subsidiary of Alden Global Capital. At one point, The Wall Street Journal reported that Soon-Shiong was exploring a sale of the Times, which the company denied.
In his note to the staff Tuesday, Soon-Shiong said that the Times would undertake a search for Merida’s successor that would include internal and external candidates.
In the meantime, he wrote, the newspaper’s existing leadership team would continue to oversee the newsroom.