Among the 30 or 40 veteran staffers taking a voluntary buyout form the Los Angeles Times are 23-year senior writer Jeff Fleishman, along with staff writer Tracy Wilkinson and the national and foreign editor Alan Zarembo, TheWrap has learned.
More than one employee who took the buyout, who all asked to remain anonymous, told TheWrap that one of the reasons they took the buyout was owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s siding with Dr. Drew Pinsky, who called one Times reporter’s 2021 article about him “distorted.”
Last week, the LA Times Guild Unit Council sent a letter to Dr. Soon-Shiong asking him to support the writer in question, Jaclyn Cosgrove: “We are asking for a public statement making it clear that Pinsky’s comments were false and for the company to offer its support for Cosgrove, who was doing their job as a journalist for the Los Angeles Times.”
The letter added, “The owner of the Los Angeles Times should not support – or keep quiet during – unfair attacks on his own employee.”
One longtime employee told TheWrap on Wednesday that the buyout had been offered to the entire editorial staff, with about 10 % accepting the deal. They estimated the size of the department, before the buyouts take effect, to be around 400. Most of the employees have continued to work remotely since the pandemic began in 2020.
The buyouts will go into effect on Feb. 28, although the employee
The Times began offering buyouts to any employee who has worked at the legacy paper for more than two years, Semafor reported earlier this month.
TheWrap has reached out to the Times for comment.
More to come…
The post Exclusive | Los Angeles Times Veterans Jeffrey Fleishman, Tracy Wilkinson, Alan Zarembo to Exit Amid Buyouts appeared first on TheWrap.