Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is apparently planning to parade the financially beleaguered Los Angeles Times in front of the public eye, hoping that investors will be captivated by its glossy cover despite the rather grim chapters inside. This former surgeon, who amassed his wealth concocting cancer drugs, might need a miracle cure to make the paper profitable — a feat that’s eluded him since he snatched it from Tronc’s grasp for a cool $500 million in 2018. Tronc, a name that sounds like a failed sci-fi villain, at least had the decency to be publicly traded on the NYSE, a platform where underperformance is met with brutal honesty, unlike the cozy confines of a privately held venture.
With a $50 million loss last year and subscriptions sinking like a lead balloon to just over 300,000, the Times seems more like a relic than a renaissance. Yet, Dr. Soon-Shiong plans to toss this financial albatross into the stock market’s turbulent waters, hoping for a buoyancy that defies the laws of economic gravity. He announced this audacious intent on “The Daily Show,” a platform known for its comedic insights — perhaps fitting for such a quixotic endeavor.
The newsroom, not exactly a bastion of harmony under his reign, has seen a fifth of its staff shown the door — no doubt an exhilarating morale booster. Meanwhile, the good doctor remains tight-lipped about how this public offering would impact his grip on the paper. Given that his Nant Capital was the vehicle for the initial purchase, one wonders if he’s planning a grand dilution of control or merely dangling the carrot of “democratization” to distract from the ongoing editorial unrest.
His stewardship hasn’t exactly been a masterclass in diplomacy either. Last year, the head of the editorial board called it quits after Soon-Shiong quashed the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president. It seems his version of “democratizing” involves a form of editorial autocracy that might make even the most seasoned apparatchik blush.
Dr. Soon-Shiong’s vision of public ownership rings hollow without the fine print. Will this be a genuine invitation for broad participation or just another theatrical gesture meant to appease critics while maintaining the status quo? As he tiptoes around the specifics, one can’t help but wonder if the good doctor has mistaken the stock market for a panacea, rather than the unforgiving arena it truly is.
For those with a penchant for the macabre, the impending IPO offers a front-row seat to watch whether the market will embrace this attempt at reinvention or let it fade into obscurity. In a world where the line between news and spectacle blurs daily, perhaps the Times’ next headline will be its own stock ticker — a fitting epitaph for a paper struggling to find its place in the digital age’s ruthless economy.
