Veteran Journalist Resigns Amid HR Controversy at De Los

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Veteran journalist Paloma Esquivel has resigned from her position as assistant editor and reporter at De Los after 17 years, citing unresolved human resources complaints against managing editor Hector Becerra. Her resignation, announced in a company Slack channel, has sent shockwaves through the newsroom.

Esquivel, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for her contributions in 2011 and 2016, officially stepped down on February 28, 2025. Her resignation came to light when screenshots of her announcement were obtained by TheWrap.

In her resignation notice, Esquivel included a full copy of a letter she reportedly sent on February 3 to HR manager Maya Dotson and Executive Editor Terry Tang. In the letter, she detailed Becerra’s “inappropriate, highly personal and baseless assessments” of the talents and work ethic of their colleagues.

“For far too long, these issues have been ignored, creating a toxic environment for many of us,” Esquivel wrote, expressing her frustration with the management’s lack of response to her previous complaints.

The resignation of a senior journalist takes place in a context of ongoing turmoil at the publication, where other journalists have also expressed dissatisfaction over management practices.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post is facing a subscription crisis as it lost 75,000 digital subscribers in just two days after billionaire Jeff Bezos instructed the paper to promote his right-wing viewpoints in its opinion section. While the exact reasons for this swift drop remain unconfirmed, sources within the organization indicated that employees fear retaliation for speaking out about the internal changes mandated by Bezos.

This decline in subscriptions represents a significant strain on the publication’s finances, adding to the challenges the Post has faced since Bezos began influencing its editorial stance.

In another significant development, the Golden Globes organization announced on the same day it would cease the $75,000 annual salary awarded to former members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the entity responsible for voting on the awards. Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne delivered this surprising news during a Zoom meeting attended by around 50 voting members.

The decision came as a shock to HFPA members who had signed a five-year contract in June 2023, ensuring their base salary would remain intact as they transitioned to the new management structure under Penske Media Eldridge.

Lastly, in a politically charged discussion on HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher criticized the current administration and remarked on the chaotic influence of Elon Musk. Maher noted a recent meeting involving former President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which he claimed was marred by the spread of Russian propaganda.

Maher lamented, “The man running this country is hell-bent on sowing chaos,” pointing to a broader trend he sees as detrimental to American democracy.