The publisher of the ''Los Angeles Times'' since June 16, 2018, has been

Patrick Soon-Shiong Patrick Soon-Shiong (born July 29, 1952) is a Chinese-South African transplant surgeon, billionaire businessman, bioscientist, and media proprietor. He is the inventor of the drug Abraxane, which became known for its efficacy against lung, bre ...

, who purchased the newspaper from the

Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...

of Chicago. Soon-Shiong replaced

Ross Levinsohn Ross B. Levinsohn (born 1962/1963) is an American media executive who has worked in media and technology. He is the CEO of The Arena Group and ''Sports Illustrated'', and has held senior roles at Yahoo, Fox Interactive and Tribune Publishing, i ...

, who was appointed to the position in August of 2017 following the firing of publisher Davan Maharaj. The publisher is typically a newspaper's top executive, similar in function to the job of corporate

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

. Sometimes, though, a newspaper's publisher is a corporation or a company, and that was the case for decades with the ''Times'', which listed its "publisher" as the

Times-Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...

. The person responsible for operating the newspaper was officially called the president and general manager, but he was casually referred to as the publisher. The official list of past publishers offered by the ''Times'' in both print and electronic versions begins with Harrison Gray Otis in 1882, but Otis never held that title officially. Indeed, he was not even the first executive to guide the newspaper. The list below includes all the people who could be considered the chief executive officer of the newspaper.

Early days

None of these people used the title of publisher. * Thomas Gardiner, business manager, and Nathan Cole Jr., editor (referred to as the projectors) (1881) * Thomas Jesse Yarnell, Thomas J. Caystile and

S.J. Mathes Samuel Jay Mathes (1849?–1927), known as S. J. Mathes, was a pioneer printer and newspaperman in Los Angeles, California, who in 1881 and 1882 directed the editorial policies of the newly established ''Los Angeles Daily Times,'' which late ...

(referred to as the successors) (1882)

Harrison Gray Otis

''The dates of service are those given in the masthead of the ''Times''.'' * Harrison Gray Otis (1882–1917), president and general manager

Chandler family

Harry Chandler Harry Chandler (May 17, 1864 – September 23, 1944) was an American newspaper publisher and investor who became owner of the largest real estate empire in the U.S. Early life Harry Chandler was born in Landaff, New Hampshire, the eldest of four ...

(1917–1944) *

Norman Chandler Norman Chandler (September 14, 1899 – October 20, 1973) was the publisher of the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1945 to 1960. Personal Norman Chandler was born in Los Angeles on September 14, 1899, one of eight children of Harry Chandler and Ma ...

(1944–1960) *

Otis Chandler Otis Chandler (November 23, 1927 – February 27, 2006) was the publisher of the ''Los Angeles Times'' between 1960 and 1980, leading a large expansion of the newspaper and its ambitions. He was the fourth and final member of the Chandler fami ...

(1960–1980)

Post-Chandler

* Tom Johnson (1980–1989) * David Laventhol (1989–1994) * Richard T. Schlosberg III (1994–1997) * Mark H. Willes (1997–1999) * Kathryn Downing (1999–2000), the first woman publisher

Tribune Company

* John Puerner (2000–2005) * Jeffrey Johnson(2005–2006) * David Hiller (2006–2008) *

Eddy Hartenstein Eddy W. Hartenstein is a business leader and has with a career in the media industry. Hartenstein currently serves as a board member at Broadcom, where he is also lead independent director, TiVo, and Sirius XM Radio, where he is also lead inde ...

(2008–2014) *

Austin Beutner Austin Michael Beutner (born April 8, 1960) is an American businessman who served as Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent from May 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021. He previously served as the first deputy mayor of Los Angeles from 2010 th ...

(2014–2015) * Timothy Ryan (2015–2016) * Davan Maharaj (2016–2017) *

(2017–2018)

Private ownership

(2018-)

References

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