OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is changing his editorial board as the legacy media continues to struggle.
For generations, newspapers have tended to be liberal, and their editorial boards have continued to endorse only Democrat presidential candidates, making them less and less relevant.
But The Times’ owner made a decision to add a fresh conservative voice to his editorial board as he hired conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings.
And unlike many “Republicans” hired by legacy media who have a disdain for President-elect Donald Trump the CNN commentator is one of his prominent supporters.
“It’s true—I’ve accepted Dr. Soon-Shiong’s invitation to join the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times,” he said on X. “I’ve written columns for the paper over the last few years and was honored to do so under such a storied and important masthead. I love newspapers and believe in strong journalism and strong opinion pages that represent a wide array of views.”
“I plan to represent those Americans who believe they are often ignored or even ridiculed in legacy media and applaud Dr. Soon-Shiong’s move to bring balance to the editorial board,” Jennings continued.
“My other professional obligations won’t be impacted by this new opportunity,” he added.
On November 26, The Times’ owner said that he would seek to add the CNN contributor to his paper’s editorial board.
“That’s why I want Scott on our new editorial board!!! Growing the board with experts who have thoughtful balanced views and new candidates are accepting the challenge to join us! Way to go Scott and thanks for accepting @latimes @ScottJenningsKY Stay tuned we are making this happen,” he said.
Jennings seemed pleased by Trump’s latest Cabinet-level nominees during a panel discussion about them this month.
In particular, Jennings expressed surprise that Trump nominated now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to be his attorney general.
“Are you not entertained?” Jennings asked when questioned by CNN “News Central” co-host Boris Sanchez about the pick.
“I mean, this is the most entertaining transition I’ve ever seen,” Jennings continued. “I was as surprised as Paula, because it’s not a name that we had seen.”
“We’d seen some reporting, a lot of different names, frankly, a lot of really sort of well-heeled Washington legal types that were on the list. So I’m I’m as surprised as anyone. But what I take away from this is that this is a president-elect who is feeling his power,” the commentator contended.
Jennings held a public affairs role in President George W. Bush’s White House and contributed to both his 2000 and 2004 campaigns. He has decades of experience in journalism.
“I mean, this is someone who is appointing people to things, whether it’s Gaetz or anything else we’ve seen today, who is feeling his power, feeling his influence, doesn’t feel like he’s in a mood to negotiate with the people in Washington, D.C.,” Jennings said.
The conservative commentator highlighted Trump’s choice of Fox News host and U.S. Army veteran Pete Hegseth as an example of him rejecting conventional Washington wisdom.
“He’s here to do what he wants to do. And he’s going to expect the Republicans to fall in line. Now all these people, whether it’s Gaetz or Hegseth or anyone else, have to go to confirmation and go through these committee hearings and prove themselves like anyone else,” Jennings said.
“But it is apparent to me that Trump is in a decisive mood and is not someone who’s interested in picking things that he would consider to be watered down. So that’s my that’s my initial reaction to this. I mean, we truly learned about it two seconds before we came on here. So pretty wild day,” the CNN personality concluded.
Trump’s selection of former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as the next Director of National Intelligence is another decision that has taken Washington by surprise.
