"Patrick Soon-Shiong's Bigger Headaches" by Daniel Guss

Survivors of the latest LA Times layoff massacre may regret further overplaying their hand

There was a feeding frenzy yesterday as 115 or so laid-off Los Angeles Times employees announced on social media their misfortune and were tearfully saluted by their now-former colleagues as they figuratively exited the newsroom.

The same newsroom that they defiantly (and pointlessly) walked out on last week.

Others, who never forgot their outlandish treatment of the public, were quick to display how the shoe is now on the other foot.

They not only reminded them of the Times “punching down,” they punched back.

When the Times’ Mark Z. Barabak counterpunched, he met a stunning ratio (that’s social media lingo for overwhelming disdain rather than “liking”) of his own punching down, including at first responders whose courage and integrity he challenged for questioning a vaccine that turned out to be unreliable and, to some, dangerous.

And social media commentator Kevin Dalton reminded us of one bad LA Times endorsement after another.

As I wrote a few days ago, “there is nothing good about anyone facing the prospect of losing their job. It is a painful and lonely experience marked by fear, anxiety and uncertainty regardless of whether one’s colleagues are going through it, too.”

But the LA Times is a business that is failing miserably, not just with its profitability, but its employees’ miscalculation that having a multi-billionaire owner insulated them from the consequences of insulting the customer.

That may be why my friends over at Red State are saying that the remaining hull of the Times could collapse at any moment.

Which brings us to beleaguered Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s other troubles.

According to Investor’s Business Daily, some of PSS’s other business holdings have lost more than 91% of their value.

While the IBD story is a bit of a strenuous read for those without formal business training, my mixed metaphor takeaway for survivors of the Times’ latest layoff massacre is this: the boss has bigger fish to fry and you may regret further overplaying your hand.

The challenge at the Times now is whether the public trust that it has stunningly squandered could ever be restored. It would first require a complete re-evaluation of its mission and its consistently far left agenda.

The chances of that happening now are Slim Whitman.

I got to talk about much of this yesterday on “The John Kobylt Show” (f/k/a The John and Ken Show) on KFI-AM 640. Check us out.

(Daniel Guss, MBA, is a multi-award-winning journalist. In June ‘23, he won the LA Press Club’s “Online Journalist of the Year” and “Best Activism Journalism” awards. He has been City Editor for the Mayor Sam network, and a featured contributor for CityWatchLA, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, KCRW 89.9 FM, KRLA 870 AM, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star-News, Los Angeles Downtown News and the Los Angeles Times in its sports, opinion, entertainment and Sunday Magazine sections among other publishers.)