Tech billionaire news moguls grapple with trust issues

Efforts to modernise the news publishing sector in the United States have been met with both innovation and criticism, particularly in light of recent initiatives by tech billionaires Patrick Soon-Shiong and Jeff Bezos to restore credibility within their respective organisations.

Soon-Shiong, the biotech entrepreneur and owner of the Los Angeles Times since 2018, has unveiled plans for an artificial intelligence-driven “bias meter” aimed at providing readers with insights into potential bias within news stories.

Speaking on a radio show hosted by political commentator Scott Jennings, Soon-Shiong elaborated on his vision for the bias meter, explaining that it would allow readers to assess the bias of a story while also offering them the opportunity to view opposing perspectives on the same subject. “So somebody could understand as they read it that the source of the article has some level of bias… And then, automatically, the reader can press a button and get both sides of that exact same story…and then give comments,” he said. This tool aims to provide transparency and foster a dual-sided narrative, ultimately seeking to enhance the reader’s understanding of the news.

Soon-Shiong’s remarks have drawn criticism from journalists and press advocates who argue that the initiative undermines the trust between editorial staff and ownership. Ann Marie Lipinski, curator of Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism, voiced her concerns, saying: “He’s declaring himself to the public as in opposition to his own staff… You’ve declared your lack of trust in them and that you’re going to be independently monitoring and grading them in a public venue.”

Similarly, Vivian Schiller, former chief executive of NPR, described the plans as embodying a “worst nightmare” scenario for news ownership in the age of billionaires.

The challenges facing traditional media environments are longstanding, having intensified following the internet’s disruption of print advertising models. Tech billionaires have stepped in as saviours, acquiring regional publications in distress. Gabriel Kahn, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California, noted that the initial optimism surrounding such acquisitions is being overshadowed by the emerging complexities of ownership. “That was thought of like: hey, this is great… They will sit back, run the business, and we will do the journalism. Of course, we’re now seeing the limits of that,” he said.

Bezos, whose acquisition of The Washington Post in 2013 revitalised the paper initially, has also faced struggles in maintaining audience engagement and financial viability. During a recent conference, he acknowledged the ongoing challenges traditional media faces, saying, “We’re struggling with the issue that all traditional media is struggling with, which is a very difficult and significant loss of trust.”

Recent reports suggest he is likely to appoint a new executive editor for the Post before Christmas, a decision which will be heavily scrutinised.

Trust in the media within the United States has reached a notable low, with recent Gallup polls indicating that only about a third of Americans expressed a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the media to deliver news fairly and accurately. This figure represents a significant decline from approximately 70 per cent in the 1970s, highlighting a growing disconnection between news consumers and producers.

Both Soon-Shiong and Bezos have faced backlash in their newsrooms recently, particularly for retracting their publications’ endorsements of presidential candidate Kamala Harris just weeks before the election — a move that stirred controversy within both papers. Soon-Shiong acknowledged the backlash, saying, “I knew I was going to take heat, I knew it was going to be painful. I knew that people don’t like change.”

In an effort to maintain balance in his newsroom, Soon-Shiong appointed Jennings to the LA Times’s editorial board — a move indicative of his aim to incorporate diverse viewpoints within editorial decisions. As the landscape of news publishing continues to shift in the wake of technological advancements and evolving reader expectations, the implications of these new initiatives underscore broader trends towards transparency, accountability, and the intersection of technology in journalism. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Times did not provide a comment regarding the recent developments.

Source: Noah Wire Services