Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times
The front page of Los Angeles Times on July 10, 2021
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Los Angeles Times Communications LLC (Nant Capital[broken anchor])
Founder(s)
PresidentDr. Patrick Soon-Shiong
EditorKevin Merida
FoundedDecember 4, 1881 (1881-12-04) (as Los Angeles Daily Times)
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters2300 E. Imperial Highway
El Segundo, California 90245
CountryUnited States
Circulation142,382 Average print circulation[1]
105,000 Digital (2018)[2]
ISSN0458-3035 (print)
2165-1736 (web)
OCLC number3638237
Websitelatimes.com

The Los Angeles Times is a regional American daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles, California in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles area city of El Segundo since 2018,[3] it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States, as well as the largest newspaper in the western United States.[4] Owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by California Times, the paper has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes.[5][6][7][8]

In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. As with other regional newspapers in California and the United States, the paper's readership has declined since 2010. It has also been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, and other controversies.

In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize and finalized their first union contract on October 16, 2019.[9] The paper moved out of its historic headquarters in downtown Los Angeles to a facility in El Segundo, near the Los Angeles International Airport, in July 2018. The L.A. Times' news coverage has evolved away from U.S. and international headlines and toward emphasizing California and especially Southern California stories since 2020.

In January 2024, the paper underwent its largest percentage reduction in headcount amounting to a layoff of over 20%, including senior staff editorial positions, in an effort to stem the tide of financial losses and maintain enough cash to be viably operational through the end of the year in a struggle for survival and relevance as a regional newspaper of diminished status.[10][11][12]

  1. ^ Turvill, William (June 24, 2022). "Top 25 US newspaper circulations: Print sales fall another 12% in 2022". Press Gazette. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  2. ^ "Top 25 U.S. Newspapers For March 2013". Alliance for Audited Media. April 30, 2013. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "Los Angeles Times | History, Ownership, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Turvill, William (June 24, 2022). "Top 25 US newspaper circulations: Print sales fall another 12% in 2022". Press Gazette. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  5. ^ Chang, Andrea; James, Andrea (April 13, 2018). "Patrick Soon-Shiong — immigrant, doctor, billionaire, and soon, newspaper owner — starts a new era at the L.A. Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  6. ^ Corey Frost; Karen Weingarten; Doug Babington; Don LePan; Maureen Okun (May 30, 2017). The Broadview Guide to Writing: A Handbook for Students (6th ed.). Broadview Press. pp. 27–. ISBN 978-1-55481-313-1. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  7. ^ James, Meg (February 19, 2021). "Patrick Soon-Shiong affirms commitment to the Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 27, 2024. Soon-Shiong, a biotech entrepreneur, and his wife, Michele, purchased The Times and the Union-Tribune in June 2018 for $500 million. Since then the company, now called California Times, has embarked on an unprecedented hiring spree, adding more than 150 journalists to The Times.
  8. ^ Caulfield, Mike (January 8, 2017), "National Newspapers of Record", Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers, Pressbooks Create, retrieved July 20, 2020
  9. ^ James, Meg (October 17, 2019). "Los Angeles Times reaches historic agreement with its newsroom union". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  10. ^ Robertson, Katie; Mullin, Benjamin (January 23, 2024). "Los Angeles Times to Slash Newsroom by Over 20%". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  11. ^ Barrionuevo, Alexei; Knolle, Sharon; Korach, Natalie (January 25, 2024). "Chaos, Fury Engulf Los Angeles Times in Historic Cuts to Newsroom". The Wrap. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  12. ^ Meg James (January 23, 2024). "L.A. Times to lay off at least 115 people in the newsroom". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 27, 2024.