Paper-Thin Ethics
Earlier this week, Angelica Coronado, a host for the Los Angeles Times’ daily podcast and web show that highlights the day’s biggest headlines, was going through the program’s rundown when she landed on a story that caught the attention of some newsroom staffers. Unlike the other stories that Coronado was spotlighting on the show, this one was rather peculiar. It wasn’t a top story at the national or local level, or a viral feel-good piece you might see on ABC’s “World News Tonight.” Instead, it was an advertisement for billionaire Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s drug company masquerading as a news story.
”ImmunityBio Incorporated, based in Culver City, has just received a major boost from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” Coronado said on the show, explaining that it all added up to a “significant development in the fight against cancer.” Coronado shouted out Soon-Shiong and closed the segment by stating that the FDA’s “commitment to work with ImmunityBio could help move these innovative therapies closer to approval, potentially saving lives in the future.”
Notably, Coronado did not disclose that Soon-Shiong is also the owner of the newspaper. But, more troubling to the journalists at the paper was that it found its way into the show’s rundown in the first place. Who put it there, and why? When I asked The Times about the segment…
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