This is an update on Saturday's piece about butt-hurt editorial/opinion staffers at the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, especially with the Times, where this spills into years of ongoing issues about Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong's ownership and allegations of repeated meddling by staff, related issues about whether those claims are overblown or not, and also, straight-up hypocrisy at the Washington Post.
Let's start with the latter.
Seeing someone like genocidalist neocon Robert Kagan quit the Washington Post is ground zero. Let former editor Marty Baron (with his own forever support for Forever War) fulminate away, even as Baron claims the paper — where long-time editorial page editor Fred Hiatt saluted every bit of Forever War every American president ran up the flagpole — was once known for "courage."
No, you were known for supporting neoconservative Forever War, and you're now known for supporting Genocide in Gaza, Marty. Probably you are individually, as well as the newspaper. Meanwhile? Kagan's butt, which wasn't even BlueAnon, I don't think, until he became a NeverTrumper, is hurting indeed. I don't doubt he's right about the BlueOrigin angle. I do know he's a fucking hypocrite who won't admit that.
The second big issue, per this NYT piece about how the art of the non-deal went down, is that publisher Will Lewis showed he had no balls. He also has a checkered history back in the UK, but that's not the only reason then-executive editor Sally Buzbee quit. She also thought he had no vision for the paper, which was amply demonstrated long before last week.
That said, the Post did just run a jointly-bylined op-ed protesting Bezos' decision.
And, another shoe has dropped there. Jeffrey himself expressed reservations about an endorsement editorial back in late September.
In a flip the other way, Soon-Shiong's daughter salutes the Times endorsing nobody, because of the Harris-Biden support for the genocide in Gaza, while specifically noting her statement was not an endorsement of Trump. In turn, The Wrap's Ross Lincoln called her claim "risible," which, maybe it is to some degree, but which also says a lot about where The Wrap is coming from, including on itself maybe running flak for Kamala is a Zionist Cop.
Nika went on to double down and claim this is why the family spiked an endorsement, which her dad then rejected, saying that she has no connection to newspaper editorial management and that he's said this before.
“Nika speaks in her own personal capacity regarding her opinion, as every community member has the right to do,” the owner said, according to a spokeswoman. “She does not have any role at The L.A. Times, nor does she participate in any decision or discussion with the editorial board, as has been made clear many times.”
I've heard Doctor Daddy say that before. That said, he did NOT say why he did cut this off, beyond letting his previous words stand, that he reportedly gave editorial staff the opportunity to do a pro-con and they punted. Also interesting is that the current executive editor is continuing radio silence.
And, this:
“This is not about disagreeing with the owner,” said Ms. Klein, an author and specialist in education who has been with The Times for 35 years, 22 of them as an editorial writer. “To do this a couple weeks before the election is truly doing an editorial — a make-believe, invisible editorial that sends a message that we have doubts about Kamala.”
This led me to a second piece, this one.
Per Doctor Daddy's words, it sounds like this "ask" on his part had been made at least two weeks before his tweet. So, no, it wasn't a last minute thing. Rather, it was, I'm guessing, at least a full month before election day.
In any case, Will Bunch, a reliable BlueAnon flunky, also has a hurting butt.
Beyond THAT?
Early voting in California started Oct. 7. So, this wasn't a last minute act by Daddy Doctor. I am venturing that he made his ask before the start of early voting, which would be two weeks before his tweet, and instead, the editorial page staff did nothing for two weeks, going into the land of editorial page passive aggressiveness / microaggressions.
At the same time, per Daddy Doctor at the "saying that" link? Doctor Daughter Nika HAS done meddling just like Dear Old Dad, per LAT staffers.
This is a shitstorm nobody will win.
Just like the hypocrisy shitstorm the Bezos Post can't win outside the BlueAnon world.
Nor can its op-ed page, per the one side issue.
Early voting? Started SEPTEMBER 20 in Virginia. Maryland? Oct. 24, so not AS bad. DC actually didn't start until Oct. 28, but if you think your editorial would sway any likely voter in the capital itself??? I have tickets on Bezos' first trip to Mars to sell you.
More seriously, as with Yashar Ali's bootlicking oppo research for Hillary Clinton and his resulting hit piece on Jill Stein in 2016, this failure at these two papers, and others, to allow for early voting makes them look yet more incompetent.
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