LA Times billionaire owner repeatedly fell behind on payments to star correspondent, vendors: report

The Los Angeles Times repeatedly fell months behind on payments to contractors and vendors — even stiffing one of its own marquee hires — as billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong pressed ahead with plans to take the 144-year-old newspaper public, according to a report.Among those caught in the payment delays was investigative journalist Catherine Herridge, who struggled for months to collect money owed under her lucrative deal with the paper before finally getting paid after what sources described as a prolonged battle, the Status newsletter reported.A spokesperson for the newspaper appeared to confirm at least some of the allegations, telling Status that the company is current on “the majority” of its payment obligations and that payments are “overwhelmingly being made in accordance with contractual terms for all active accounts.”“The assertions being made are not accurate,” the newspaper’s rep told Status.“The Times is current on the majority of its payment obligations, and payments are overwhelmingly being made in accordance with contractual terms for all active accounts.”The statement came after Status reported that the newspaper had repeatedly failed to pay contractors and vendors on time, with some waiting months to receive payment and only getting paid after escalating the matter to senior executives or threatening further action.Herridge, the former CBS News and Fox News investigative reporter, joined the Times with considerable fanfare in November of last year after signing what Status described as a lucrative deal to host a weekly investigative series.But the newsletter reported that the relationship quickly deteriorated behind the scenes as the newspaper fell months behind on payments owed to the veteran investigative reporter.The Times ultimately caught up after what sources described to Status as a lengthy battle to collect the money.The payment dispute came as Herridge was already facing mounting financial pressure from an unrelat...