Tronc has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Times and its sister publication, The San Diego Union-Tribune, for $500 million to billionaire physician and Tronc investor Patrick Soon-Shiong. A Californian, Soon-Shiong takes over during a turbulent period at the paper, “which has seen three editors in six months, its publisher placed on unpaid leave amid a sexual harassment investigation, and a historic vote to unionize the newsroom,” the Times writes. With the purchase, Soon-Shiong will succeed Tronc head Michael Ferro, whose tenure was deeply unpopular among the newspaper staff. “It’s hard to imagine the new boss being worse than the Tronc era has been,” wrote CNN’s media critic Brian Lowry, formerly a staffer of the Los Angeles Times.
BREAKING: Tronc sells Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to Dr. Soon-Shiong for $500M, plus $90M in pension liabilities. https://t.co/vLclGgdl5b
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