THE BBC has come under pressure from leading black and Asian media figures to reverse its ruling over Naga Munchetty’s criticism of Donald Trump.
The BBC Breakfast presenter was found to have been in breach of editorial guidelines for speaking out on air about racist comments made by the US president.
Actor and comedian Lenny Henry and Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy have been joined by the likes of actor Adrian Lester and filmmaker Asif Kapadia in writing to the BBC demanding it overturns its decision regarding Munchetty.
The letter, published by The Guardian, also asks that “BBC management issue support for journalists and acknowledge there can be no expectation of ‘impartiality’ over experiences of racism”.
It goes on to ask that the bodies that oversee complaints about broadcasting, such as the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) and Ofcom, “address their own levels of diversity and increase transparency as to how they reach their decisions”.
The group said they “strongly condemn this finding and assert that it amounts to both a misunderstanding of the BBC’s editorial guidelines, and a form of racially discriminatory treatment towards BAME people who work on programming”.
The letter ended saying it believed that “in addition to being deeply flawed, illegal and contrary to the spirit and purpose of public broadcasting, the BBC’s current position will have a profound effect on future diversity within the BBC”.
They said that to “require journalists of all ethnicities and races to endorse racism as a legitimate ‘opinion’ is an abrogation of responsibility of the most serious nature”.
The ECU ruled that Munchetty crossed the line when she condemned comments made by Trump when he told female Democrat politicians to “go back to their own countries” in July.
The BBC was forced to clarify the ruling after an initial backlash. Bosses said editorial guidelines “do not allow for journalists to then give their opinions about the individual making the remarks or their motives for doing so – in this case President Trump – and it was for this reason that the complaint was partially upheld. Those judgments are for the audience to make.”
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
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