LA Times 'journalists of color' complain about impact to 'diversity' amid mass layoffs

After the Los Angeles Times announced layoffs of at least 20 percent of its staff, around 115 employees, the "Black, Latino, AAPI and MENASA Caucuses issued a statement saying that "journalists of color" are facing "devestating implications."

The mass layoffs signified the largest number of employees terminated at one time in the paper's 143-year history.

The "devastating implications" to the journlists of color include the loss of members of the caucuses, 38 percent of the Latino Caucus, 36 percent of the Black Caucus, and 34 percent among the others.

The minority groups accused the LA Times of breaking its commitment to "diversify" the newsroom as some of its members were among those axed from the paper.

"Our newspaper's ownership made a promise to bring in talented journalists from diverse background so that our staff reflects the city we cover, in the most populous state in the country. These proposed cuts would damage what incremental progress has been made."

"This is the statement from the LA Times' DEI caucuses complaining about the recent layoffs. Notice that they only defend their work on the basis of race, not on quality, merit, or the bottom line. DEI is purely ideological, subordinating journalism to racial box-checking," Chris Rufo of the Manhattan Institute said, sharing the statement.

The statement reads: "The announcement today of cuts at the Los Angeles Times eliminating 115 jobs has devastating implications for Black, Latino, AAPI and other journalists of color."

"De Los, a Latino-led, Latino-centered, initiative, will be gutted by these cuts," the statement continued. "That is just one example of the ways in which this proposal would deal a disastrous blow to the efforts to build a newsroom in Los Angeles, where half of all residents are Latino. The cuts would also leave fewer than 20 Black staffers in the Guild, making it all but impossible to reach the company's promised goal of 44 Black staffers by 2025. The newsroom's sole reporting positions dedicated to covering Southern California's diverse Black and Asian communities will be eliminated."

"We want to reiterate that the company pledged their commitment to diversifying the newsroom and coverage for the benefit of The Los Angeles Times and the communities it serves. You can find those promises here and here. That commitment has been broken," the statement concludes.

The paper's owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, explained that the terminations were a result of the publication losing $40 million per year without boosting subscriptions and advertisements, a loss that they could no longer afford.

"Today’s decision is painful for all, but it is imperative that we act urgently and take steps to build a sustainable and thriving paper for the next generation. We are committed to doing so," Soon-Shiong said.

This recent round of layoffs follows the paper's elimination of over 70 positions in June of last year, or roughly 13 percent of its staff.

Among those terminated on Tuesday includes LA Times opinion columnist, Jean Guerrero, who centered her work around writing radical hit pieces on conservative officials and pundits, specifically former President Donald Trump.

She called her termination a "dark day" as she predominantly focuses her journalism on "Trump," saying that the election "is looming."

"I’ve been laid off from my job as a columnist for the LA Times today, with 100 of my best colleagues. It’s a dark day. I was the only Latina columnist for the opinion desk. Trump is looming & I’m author of Hatemonger," said Guerrero.

https://Twitter.com/mrandyngo/status/1749901483296866678?s=20

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Guerrero, who authored an anti-Trump book titled "Hatemonger," was the journalist who infamously called conservative radio host Larry Elder a "white supremacist" during his run for Gov. of California.

Elder, who is black, weighed in on Guerrero's termination and said on X:

"Yo, @jeanguerre, who called me a “white supremacist,” you’ve been canned by the broke @latimes. Bet your equally bigoted, but black colleague, @Erika_D_Smith, who called me “the black face of white supremacy,” still has a job. She’d pull out the race card in a L.A. minute."

https://Twitter.com/larryelder/status/1750022383082361172?s=20

Employment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas estimates that through the end of November, 2,681 positions in the news industry were lost. That exceeded the totals for the years 2022 and 2021, according to AP.