Former ABC News correspondent Terry Moran said on a Monday podcast that journalists do not have a duty to aim for “objectivity.”
ABC News let go of Moran on Tuesday after he called White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller a “world-class hater” in a June 8 X post that he later deleted. On “The Bulwark,” Moran said journalists are only required to be “fair and accurate,” claiming his rant met those standards.
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“My own feeling is you don’t sacrifice your citizenship as a journalis[t]. And your job is not to be objective,” Moran said. “There is no Mount Olympus of objectivity where a Mandarin class of wise people have no feelings about what happens in their society.”
“We’re all in this together. What you have to be is fair and accurate. And I would refer to the interview with [President Donald Trump] that I did or a lot of my work,” he continued. “And I would also say that this, while very hot, is an observation, a description that is accurate and true.”
An ABC spokesperson told CNN’s Brian Stelter that Moran’s post clearly breached the policies of ABC News, specifically noting the outlet mandates “objectivity” for its reporters.
“We are at the end of our agreement with Terry Moran and based on his recent post – which was a clear violation of ABC News policies – we have made the decision to not renew,” the spokesperson said.
“At ABC News, we hold all of our reporters to the highest standards of objectivity, fairness and professionalism, and we remain committed to delivering straightforward, trusted journalism,” the spokesperson added, according to Stelter.
ABC News initially suspended Moran on June 8 after he posted his lengthy and scathing condemnation of Miller on X. “Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred,” Moran concluded in his post. “He’s a world-class hater.”
The post drew backlash from Vice President JD Vance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Miller himself on June 8.
“The most important fact about Terry’s full public meltdown is what it shows about the corporate press in America,” Miller posted on X. “For decades, the privileged anchors and reporters narrating and gatekeeping our society have been radicals adopting a journalist’s pose. Terry pulled off his mask.”
ABC News debate moderators Linsey Davis and David Muir also faced criticism for fact-checking Trump significantly more often than former Vice President Kamala Harris during their only debate during the 2024 presidential election.
While Harris made multiple misstatements during the debate, the moderators did not interrupt or fact-check her.
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