LOS ANGELES - The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times has made a career, and multibillion dollar fortune, from attempting to cure cancer as well as the pervasive ills of the health care system writ large. Now focused on reviving the Fourth Estate on the West Coast, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is turning to an unlikely ally, one which he believes will be central to real news engagement: video games. Speaking to The Washington Post from the future site of the L.A. Times Center next to the paper's new offices in El Segundo, Soon-Shiong said he sees the investment as part of an ambitious strategy to both combat fake news and shore up the Times's position among young people and sports fans across the nation. The investment in Daybreak and focus on esports is part of larger L.A. Times strategy to position itself as a go-to destination for sports coverage, according to Soon-Shiong, who also has a minority stake in the NBA's Lakers and called Los Angeles the "Sports capital of the world," citing this city's multiple NFL, NBA and MLS teams, as well as two top tier NCAA programs, MLB and NHL teams in the region. Unlike previous years and management, those issues are now being counterbalanced by endeavors such as the L.A. Times Center, which is set to play a role in the Times's new focus on sports and new tech platforms as well. With Soon-Shiong's move into esports and video gaming, he is taking action on what he believes is the next phase of the newspaper business, where newspapers evolve from their print origins to become full-on media brands, with their fingers in diverse platforms, including live events, social media, websites, TV and over the top media services. While the industry has seen no shortage of video initiatives and cheap engagement tactics, Soon-Shiong's pivot to video games represents a new method of trying to reach, and become relevant to, new audiences- and those audiences are already noticing. Read more