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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    For LA Times and its billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, an uncertain future lies ahead

    The Wall Street Journal reported that Patrick Soon-Shiong is looking to sell the LA Times and its sister paper The San Diego Union-Tribune, though he has repeatedly denied that and disputed the Journal’s reporting.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Mar 15, 2021 • 7m Listen

    Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong’s pharmaceutical company is facing a billion dollar lawsuit from a competitor, as his newspaper, the LA Times, still doesn’t have an executive editor and its digital base is experiencing slower than expected growth. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Soon-Shiong is looking to sell the LA Times and its sister paper The San Diego Union-Tribune, though he has repeatedly denied that and disputed the Journal’s reporting.

    A spokesperson for the LA Times issued the following statement to KCRW after this segment first aired:

    “Dr. Soon-Shiong and his family continue to invest in and plan for the future of the California Times, which includes the L.A. Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, and do not plan to sell.”

    The full episode

    3 of 5
    LA County moves from purple to red tier. Business owners are cautiously optimistic
    1. 0:00‘We’re excited, we’re nervous’: Greg Laemmle and other LA business owners cautiously eye reopenings
    2. 10:34Former Rep. Katie Hill sues GOP operative over release of intimate photos, citing revenge porn laws
    3. 18:31For LA Times and its billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, an uncertain future lies aheadYou’re reading this
    4. 26:12Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion dominated at 2021 Grammys
    5. 34:12‘Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell’: How Notorious B.I.G. became a star and took loved ones along for the ride
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Angie Perrin

      Producer, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Rick Edmonds

      media business analyst at Poynter

      NewsLos AngelesCaliforniaBusiness & Economy

    The full episode

    3 of 5
    LA County moves from purple to red tier. Business owners are cautiously optimistic
    1. 0:00‘We’re excited, we’re nervous’: Greg Laemmle and other LA business owners cautiously eye reopenings
    2. 10:34Former Rep. Katie Hill sues GOP operative over release of intimate photos, citing revenge porn laws
    3. 18:31For LA Times and its billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, an uncertain future lies aheadYou’re reading this
    4. 26:12Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion dominated at 2021 Grammys
    5. 34:12‘Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell’: How Notorious B.I.G. became a star and took loved ones along for the ride
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand