"Billionaire healthcare mogul Patrick Soon-Shiong hopes to take public later this year one of his companies that is spearheading development of a cocktail of biologics as a vaccine aimed at multiple facets of cancer, according to an interview with Reuters..."June 18, 2018, Breitbart: Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong Takes over L.A. Times, Declares War on ‘Fake News’
"Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire who earned his fortune in the biotech field, will officially take full control of the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune on Monday when the $500 million sale is completed and Soon-Shiong becomes executive chairman of the California News Group... He added:Update: Well that didn't take long. The LAT has put doctors on notice that writing medical exemptions will get them in trouble with the medical board. The article actually admits that the ruling will have a chilling effect on doctors, and quotes a woman celebrating that fact.
I believe that fake news is the cancer of our times and social media the vehicles for metastasis. Institutions like The Times and the Union-Tribune are more vital than ever. They must be bastions of editorial integrity and independence if they are to protect our democracy and provide an antidote to disinformation. We will continue our papers’ dedication to truth, integrity, journalistic independence, and storytelling that engages, informs, educates and inspires with care and compassion."
Missing from the story is the disclosure that the paper is owned by a vaccine developer, which would be done if the LAT were a, bastion of editorial integrity and independence."
June 29, 2018: LA Times: California doctor critical of vaccines is punished for exempting 2-year-old boy from all childhood immunizations
"In a decision that could signal how California’s fierce vaccine debates will play out in the coming years, the Medical Board of California has ordered 35 months’ probation for Dr. Bob Sears, an Orange County pediatrician well-known for being sympathetic to parents opposed to vaccines... “It’s not a trivial decision, it’s not a slap on the hand,” said UC Hastings law professor Dorit Reiss. “It really is strongly limiting his ability to practice … he’s a doctor under supervision now.”"
Subject: The LAT and its history of irresponsible science journalism Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2018 14:35:11 -0400 From: Ginger Taylor <mail@adventuresinautism.com> To: Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Executive Chairman, LA Times <Patrick.Soon-Shiong@latimes.com>, Norman Pearlstine, Executive Editor, LA Times <Norman.Pearlstine@latimes.com>, Nicholas Goldberg, Editor of the Editorial Pages, LA Times <Nicholas.Goldberg@latimes.com>, Karen Kaplan, Science and Medicine Editor, LA Times <Karen.Kaplan@latimes.com>
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and The Management of the LA Times,
Today I read about the change in ownership of the LA Times, and Dr. Soon-Shiong's commitment to leaving behind the era of fake news so that the paper may become a "bastion of editorial integrity and independence." I am writing to offer you a starting point for where that change may begin. I encourage you to humbly examine the paper's previous lack of integrity in science journalism, so that it may be repented of, to lead to a new course of honest reporting.
My faith in mainstream media "science journalism" ended in 2009 because of the LA Times, the abysmal and juvenile reporting they were publishing on very serious vaccine safety issues, and the appalling exchange I had with their science writers and editors on their "fake news." It resulted in a, widely circulated, in-depth piece on the bad faith of the paper, and in science reporting in general. At the time I cautioned that the course the paper was on would only lead to the complete loss of public trust on these matters, and we have seen that come to fruition in this era.
It is my understanding that Dr. Soon-Shiong is in the vaccine industry himself, and unfortunately we have seen how that kind of conflict of interest in media ownership results in bias, so I am dubious that the LAT will make the changes needed to conduct earnest, objective reporting on these issues. However, if the California News Group is serious about developing integrity and demonstrating that they are independent from industry influence, then this is the place to start:
Chris Mooney, Sheril Kirshenbaum, Lori Kozlowski, Rosie Mestel, Thomas Maugh, David Gorski, Virginia Hughes, Science Journalists, The Dying of the LA Times and an Angry Autism Mom
Ginger Taylor
Adventures In AutismFacebookTwitterVaccine Epidemic
Update:
Yeah, so apparently they were not interested in responding. Instead:
Step 1. Become a billionaire vaccine developer.
Step 2. Buy the LA Times and claim to bring integrity back to news
Step 3. Go after Bob Sears and make all doctors fear punishment for writing vaccine exemptions.
Step 4. Profit. (more.)
All over the course of 18 days
Subject: | You missed an important disclosure |
|---|---|
| Date: | Sat, 30 Jun 2018 11:29:49 -0400 |
| From: | Ginger Taylor |
| To: | soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com |
Vaccine developer Patrick Shoon-Sheon bought the LA Times this month, with the promise that it should become a, 'bastion of editorial integrity and independence."Yet your LAT article on Dr. Sears, that celebrates the chilling effect that the ruling will have on physicians writing medical exemptions, fails to disclose that the newspaper is own by a vaccine developer in the process of taking his vaccine products public.
http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-letter-to-vaccine-developer-who-just.html--
Ginger Taylor, MS
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Re: The LAT and its history of irresponsible science journalism
Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2018 11:46:20 -0400
From: Ginger Taylor
To: Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Executive Chairman, LA Times <Patrick.Soon-Shiong@latimes.com>, Norman Pearlstine, Executive Editor, LA Times <Norman.Pearlstine@latimes.com>, Nicholas Goldberg, Editor of the Editorial Pages, LA Times <Nicholas.Goldberg@latimes.com>, Karen Kaplan, Science and Medicine Editor, LA Times <Karen.Kaplan@latimes.com>
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and The Management of the LA Times,
Only ten days ago I wrote to you on your commitment to make the LAT a, 'bastion of editorial integrity and independence," and urged you to start by correcting the errant and irresponsible reporting that the paper has published on vaccine issues.
Yet your LAT article today on Dr. Sears, that celebrates the chilling effect that the ruling will have on physicians writing medical exemptions, fails to even disclose that the newspaper is own by a vaccine developer in the process of taking his vaccine products public.
http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-letter-to-vaccine-developer-who-just.html
I call on the paper to either disclose the serious conflict of interest on this and all vaccine related articles, or publicly withdraw the "integrity" claim.
Ginger Taylor
On 6/20/2018 2:35 PM, Ginger Taylor wrote:
> Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and The Management of the LA Times,
>
> Today I read about the change in ownership of the LA Times, and Dr. Soon-Shiong's commitment to leaving behind the era of fake news so that the paper may become a "bastion of editorial integrity and independence." I am writing to offer you a starting point for where that change may begin. I encourage you to humbly examine the paper's previous lack of integrity in science journalism, so that it may be repented of, to lead to a new course of honest reporting.
> My faith in mainstream media "science journalism" ended in 2009 because of the LA Times, the abysmal and juvenile reporting they were publishing on very serious vaccine safety issues, and the appalling exchange I had with their science writers and editors on their "fake news." It resulted in a, widely circulated, in-depth piece on the bad faith of the paper, and in science reporting in general. At the time I cautioned that the course the paper was on would only lead to the complete loss of public trust on these matters, and we have seen that come to fruition in this era.
> It is my understanding that Dr. Soon-Shiong is in the vaccine industry himself, and unfortunately we have seen how that kind of conflict of interest in media ownership results in bias, so I am dubious that the LAT will make the changes needed to conduct earnest, objective reporting on these issues. However, if the California News Group is serious about developing integrity and demonstrating that they are independent from industry influence, then this is the place to start:
> Chris Mooney, Sheril Kirshenbaum, Lori Kozlowski, Rosie Mestel, Thomas Maugh, David Gorski, Virginia Hughes, Science Journalists, The Dying of the LA Times and an Angry Autism Mom
> Ginger Taylor
More on Patrick Soon-Shiong's "integrity" problems:
March 6, 2017 Stat News: How the world’s richest doctor gave away millions — then steered the cash back to his company
"For months, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong would continue to reap praise for his generosity in publicity put out by the university. Not mentioned in any of the tributes: $10 million of his donation would be sent right back to one of his companies. And the contract for his gift was worded in a way that left the University of Utah with no other choice..."
March 6, 2017, Fortune: Biotech Billionaire Accused of Funneling Donations Back to Companies
"But several tax lawyers had a very different take on the donation’s structure. “They’re laundering the funds through the University of Utah,” said one of the experts, Marc Owens, adding that “I think that this transaction was deliberately structured to attempt to disguise self-dealing.”April 9, 2017, Politico: How Washington’s favorite cancer fighter helps himself: Patrick Soon-Shiong is a philanthropist and a businessman. But a prime target of his philanthropy is his businesses.
"A POLITICO investigation found that the majority of its expenditures flow to businesses and not-for-profits controlled by Soon-Shiong himself, and the majority of its grants have gone to entities that have business deals with his for-profit firms...
The POLITICO investigation found that:
• Of the nearly $59.6 million in foundation expenditures between its founding in 2010 and 2015, the most recent year for which records are available, over 70 percent have gone to Soon-Shiong-affiliated not-for-profits and for-profits, along with entities that do business with his for-profit firms.
• Six employees of Soon-Shiong’s for-profit companies were also paid by the foundation, which raises questions of whether the foundation is covering overhead for his for-profit firms, according to tax specialists.
• The foundation contributed $3 million out of a total of $12 million donated by Soon-Shiong-controlled entities to a University of Utah program to map the genomes of 1,000 state residents. University officials say they let Soon-Shiong’s entities write the grant specifications. The specifications gave a major advantage to his for-profit firms, which got the $10 million gene-mapping contract.
• Soon-Shiong-controlled charities gave a total of $15 million — including $10 million from the NantHealth Foundation — to a fund that benefited Phoenix Children’s Hospital, which concluded a pair of deals with Soon-Shiong’s for-profit companies for many millions of dollars."
October 17, 2017 , Salt Lake Tribune: Hughes questions whether University of Utah had a ‘Cinderella-slippered’ deal when it directed donation money back to donor's company
"U. faculty failed to go through a competitive bidding process before awarding $10 million gene-sequencing contract to lab owned by billionaire donor Patrick Soon-Shiong."
No wonder he decided to start buying newspapers.
