A letter to readers

Dear Reader,

I am proud to announce the next evolution of the L.A. Times to better engage with our audience. Today, we are releasing new features to enhance and improve our digital product, integrating livestreaming video, podcasts and AI-generated features into a seamless experience.

L.A. Times Studios now produces video-streaming content daily with news, features, and other programming of interest to our community. Available directly on the Los Angeles Times homepage, this content includes continuous live camera feeds from iconic locations in Los Angeles, from Hollywood to Malibu.

Today, we are beginning a new effort to ensure that readers can readily distinguish opinion-driven content from our news reporting. Any content written from a point of view may be labeled Voices, which helps to strengthen the separation between what’s news and what’s not. Voices is not strictly limited to Opinion section content. It also includes news commentary, criticism, reviews, and more. If a piece takes a stance or is written from a personal perspective, it may be labeled Voices.

We are also releasing Insights, an AI-driven feature that will appear on some Voices content. The purpose of Insights is to offer readers an instantly accessible way to see a wide range of different AI-enabled perspectives alongside the positions presented in the article. I believe providing more varied viewpoints supports our journalistic mission and will help readers navigate the issues facing this nation.

We added these new features to encourage audience engagement and interaction with The Times and our content. I believe the media is evolving, and The Times is well-positioned to lead the way.

We will stand true to our mission statement, which says:

“We strive to take into account different perspectives, particularly if they don’t align with our own, to inform our views. Our hope is to lay out arguments and analyses that can help our readers navigate complex questions or, at the very least, give them a well-considered way to think about the issues of the day.”

We invite your thoughts, and I hope you find these innovations helpful and enlightening.

Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D.
Executive Chairman
L.A. Times

About L.A. Times Insights

L.A. Times Insights delivers AI-generated analysis on Voices articles that offer a point of view on an issue. This may include Opinion columns, editorials, commentary and more.

Insights analyzes Voices content to identify where the views expressed may fall on the political spectrum. It also offers an annotated summary of the ideas expressed in the piece along with different views on the topic from a variety of sources.

Insights analysis is not created by the editorial staff of the Los Angeles Times and makes no judgment on the quality of any piece of journalism or the viewpoint it espouses. Insights is intended only to give readers additional perspectives on Voices articles that offer a point of view. AI is an experimental, evolving technology. If you see an error, please report it on the Insights page.

About L.A. Times Voices

L.A. Times Voices offers a clear way to identify content that stands apart from our daily news report. Any content that is written from a point of view may be labeled Voices, helping to strengthen the distinction between what’s news and what’s not.

Voices is not strictly limited to Opinion section content. It also includes news commentary, criticism, reviews and more. If an article takes a stance or is written from a personal perspective, it may be labeled Voices.