Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong interfered in reporting at the newspaper about a billionaire doctor friend who was involved in a lawsuit over his dog biting a woman in a local park, TheWrap has learned.
The meddling in an unpublished story was a last straw in the deteriorating relationship between Soon-Shiong and his executive editor Kevin Merida, who resigned on Jan. 9.
TheWrap reported on this incident in an investigative piece last week, but the details of the interference only emerged on Friday in The New York Times.
Gary Michelson, a billionaire surgeon who has invented multiple patented treatments for spinal disorders, sued Sandra Schnaufer for extortion and emotional distress in May 2023, according to court documents.