Los Angeles Times owner pledges staff shift

 

Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong has pledged to make a quarter of the Times’ newsroom Latino over the next five years, The Wrap and others reported.

“Our staff makeup and coverage should better reflect the fact that one in two people in LA County is Latino. This should go without saying,” said a recent letter from Soon-Shiong to the Times’ staff and Latino Caucus.

The letter also spells out other efforts at the Times, including “new metrics that evaluate managers’ adherence to diversity initiatives and hiring,” a new talent and culture editor to meet with the Latino Caucus to discuss openings and promotion opportunities and the formation of a database with the names of journalists recommended by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, says The Wrap.

Soon-Shiong’s letter comes after a social media push from the Latino Caucus.

In June, Soon-Shiong responded to a letter from the Times’ Black Caucus on black journalist retention and other matters.

The paper released a report in June with info on the staff’s diversity.

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