LA Times Owner Teases Tech-Driven ‘Bias Meter’

As accusations of media bias run rampant, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, has unveiled a bold initiative aimed at countering one of the most pressing concerns in journalism today: the lack of neutrality in news coverage. Soon-Shiong’s plan for a tech-driven “bias meter,” promises to offer readers a more balanced perspective on news stories by allowing them to access both sides of an issue with a simple click of a button. This innovation is designed to address what Soon-Shiong sees as the growing problem of echo chambers in modern journalism, where opinions often overshadow facts.

Recently, Soon-Shiong made waves when he overruled the Los Angeles Times editorial board’s attempt to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election. The decision started a broader conversation about the role of editorial boards in shaping public opinion, and whether such endorsements should be influenced by personal political leanings or based on an independent, fact-driven assessment.

During a recent interview on the Flyover Country podcast, Soon-Shiong expressed his concerns about the state of journalism, particularly regarding the Los Angeles Times. He described a disheartening trend where the editorial board presented a “prepackaged” endorsement for a presidential candidate without having met with any of the contenders. Soon-Shiong’s response was blunt: he was “a little bit outraged.”

“The editorial board should not operate in a vacuum,” Soon-Shiong said. “There has to be some level of trusted source.” Drawing on his medical background, he likened the role of journalists to that of a doctor delivering informed, fact-based advice to a patient. Just as a physician’s advice should be rooted in trusted medical data, journalism, in Soon-Shiong’s view, should be anchored in verifiable facts.

In a media landscape increasingly fragmented by partisan news outlets and social media algorithms, Soon-Shiong believes that many outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, have become part of the issue. The editorial board’s tendency to embrace one-sided narratives has, in his view, eroded the trust that readers should place in the newspaper as an unbiased source of news.

“This is not about trying to placate one side or the other,” Soon-Shiong explained. “We need to create some level of balance when it comes to opinion with columnists, and then we need to actually let the reader know this is opinion.” His solution is to empower readers to make their own judgments by presenting them with a broader view of the story, including viewpoints that may contradict their own.

The tool will allow readers to press a button and instantly access multiple perspectives on the same story, helping to reduce what is known as “confirmation bias”—the tendency to seek out information that confirms existing beliefs. The goal is to provide a more well-rounded, nuanced view of events and to promote critical thinking.

By using technology to analyze and present multiple sides of a story, Soon-Shiong hopes to create a more transparent, objective framework for news reporting.

In the wake of widespread concerns about misinformation, biased reporting, and the loss of public trust in traditional media outlets, initiatives like these could signal a shift toward greater accountability and transparency in journalism.

If successful, the bias meter could pave the way for a new era of tech-powered media literacy, where readers are empowered to examine stories from multiple angles and form their own conclusions. In an age where trust in the media is at an all-time low, this could be a game-changer for how news is reported, consumed, and understood.