by When Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, hired Kevin Merida to be the newspaper’s top editor nearly three years ago, he hailed the journalist as someone who would uphold the publication’s high standards and journalistic integrity. .
By that winter, the professional warmth between the two men had cooled. Their relationship was strained in part by an incident in December when Dr. Soon-Shiong tried to dissuade Mr. Merida from pursuing a story about a wealthy California doctor and his dog, three people with knowledge of the interactions said. The doctor was an acquaintance of Dr. Soon-Shiong, the people said.
The previously unreported incident occurred as the Los Angeles Times, the largest news organization on the West Coast, struggled to reverse years of losses amid a tough market for newspapers. Merida resigned this month. Shortly after, the company laid off about 115 journalists, or about 20 percent of its newsroom.
It is not uncommon for a publication’s owner to be consulted about sensitive information, especially if it could endanger the newspaper legally or financially. But it is unusual for an owner or editor to pressure editors to stop reporting a story long before it is published, especially in cases that do not put government secrets or human lives at risk.
In a statement on Friday, Dr. Soon-Shiong disputed the characterization of how he had acted, calling it “factually incorrect.” The Los Angeles Times said in a statement that Dr. Soon-Shiong, who bought the newspaper in 2018, had requested “truthful and factual reporting” on the story.
In a note to staff this month, Merida said he had decided to resign after “considerable soul-searching about my career at this stage.” Dr. Soon-Shiong said at the time that he had “mutually agreed” that Mr. Merida would leave.
Dr. Soon-Shiong’s confrontation with Mr. Merida over the unfinished article arose from work a business journalist was doing on Dr. Gary Michelson, a California surgeon who made his fortune from medical patents, the three people said. with knowledge of the situation.
The journalist was investigating dueling lawsuits involving Dr. Michelson and allegations that his dog had bitten a woman in a Los Angeles park. In a lawsuit filed by Dr. Michelson in May, he said the woman had tried to extort him. The woman filed a personal injury lawsuit against Dr. Michelson.
Dr. Michelson, who lives in Los Angeles, and Dr. Soon-Shiong are among a small, exclusive group of medical professionals who have become multimillionaires through their innovations and investments. Dr. Soon-Shiong made his fortune in biotechnology. They are both philanthropists.
A spokesman for Dr. Michelson did not respond to a request for comment.
Last month, before the report on Dr. Michelson came to fruition, Dr. Soon-Shiong learned of the story and contacted Mr. Merida to express his displeasure, the people said. Dr. Soon-Shiong told Mr. Merida that he did not believe the newspaper should continue with the article.
Merida relayed Dr. Soon-Shiong’s concerns to editors, including Scott Kraft, a senior editor, and Jeff Bercovici, a business editor, the people said. The editors agreed to keep Mr. Mérida informed about the article, which the newspaper continued to work on. Bercovici was fired this month.
At one point, Dr. Soon-Shiong asked to see a draft of the article, which Merida considered inappropriate, the people said. Dr. Soon-Shiong also told Mr. Merida in a call that he would fire the journalists if he found out they were withholding the full article from him, the people said.
A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Times said in a statement that Dr. Soon-Shiong did not want the newspaper to be used as a “source of exploitation” in the dispute between Dr. Michelson and the woman who had sued him.
“Dr. Soon-Shiong had urged that the facts be gathered from both sides,” he said. “This request for truthful and factual information was made by Dr. Soon-Shiong, regardless of who was involved in this ‘bite’ story. of dog.’ He simply urged editors to ensure that research was done before publishing any article.”
The incident weighed on Mr. Mérida, two of the people said. The editor had already found himself at odds with the Soon-Shiong family over issues such as the newspaper’s budget. Merida was prepared to potentially resign if the article on Dr. Michelson was ready and Dr. Soon-Shiong blocked its publication, the two people said.
The newspaper has not recently published any articles about Dr. Michelson.
Laurence Darmiento, the journalist who worked on the article, said he had continued to cover the story. He said he was aware that the story was sensitive, like all articles about wealthy Los Angeles residents, and added that his editors had never told him to stop working on it.
“Beyond that, I didn’t have any firsthand knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes,” Darmiento said. “Last week, despite all the turmoil at The Times, I was doing some reporting on it.”
