Veteran Univision anchor Jorge Ramos blasted his network Saturday for hosting an interview with former President Donald Trump, charging it created “discomfort and uncertainty within the newsroom.”
Ramos voiced his displeasure in an interview with fellow journalist Enrique Acevedo, saying the Trump interview “put in doubt the independence of our news department, and created discomfort and uncertainty within the newsroom.”
“We cannot normalize behavior that threatens democracy and the Hispanic community, or offer Trump an open microphone to broadcast his falsehoods and conspiracy theories,” Ramos said. “We must question and fact-check everything he says and does. That’s why it is very dangerous to fail to confront Trump.”
“And that’s why it is our moral obligation to confront him every time there’s a journalistic opportunity to do it. But I understand that not everyone agrees, and I open the debate here,” he added.
Ramos recalled his confrontations with Trump during the 2015 campaign, particularly the infamous moment in Iowa when the then-presidential candidate booted him out of a press conference.
“Our job as journalists is to question those in power,” Ramos said. “That’s what reporters do. That’s what I did in Iowa and what I have done with Trump since he announced his first presidential campaign.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), TelevisaUnivision has been “under scrutiny in the wake of the interview, with The Washington Post reporting that Democrats were alarmed at the tone of the interview and angry that ads the Biden administration had purchased to run during the interview were canceled at the last minute.”
In a staff memo last Thursday, TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis defended the interview with Trump, given that it was the first with a Republican president in 22 years, adding that he was interviewed due to him being the “current Republican frontrunner, according to the polls.”
“Univision is not a tool of any party or organization. Univision is an independent news organization, and we will not be deterred by partisan interests and agenda-driven advocacy. Our responsibility is to our audience; we are strongly committed to this and will stay the course,” he said.
Actor John Leguizamo has also called for a boycott of Univision.
“On Nov. 9 the network aired an hourlong interview with him that held a completely uncritical lens on the dangerous policies Trump espoused during his presidency and what he has vowed to set in motion if he is elected in 2024,” the actor wrote.
“Despite…past indignities and dangerous plans, Univision’s new corporate owners — one of whom is friends with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner — have decided to shift the network’s editorial approach and buddy up with Trump less than a year before an immensely consequential election for Latino voters,” Leguizamo added.
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
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