The paper's soon-to-be former headquarters. Photo: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
"Biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong [tomorrow] will take control of the Los Angeles Times," the L.A. Times' Meg James writes. "Soon-Shiong is spending $500 million to acquire [The Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune] from Chicago-based Tronc."
Why it matters: "The deal, which was announced Feb. 7, returns The Times to local ownership after 18 turbulent years under Chicago control."
A humbling new home: "Soon-Shiong ... plans to relocate most of the 800 employees to El Segundo [in a building he owns near LAX] by the end of July, vacating the paper’s iconic Art Deco headquarters in downtown Los Angeles — The Times’ home since 1935."
- Previous corporate owners sold it, and the lease is up.
- "Soon-Shiong ... spent millions creating a 21st-century newsroom that encourages collaboration."
- "The Times once boasted one of the world’s largest newsrooms, with more than 1,200 journalists and more than 25 foreign bureaus ... Now it employs about 400 journalists."