BBC Rebukes Anchor Who Criticized Trump ‘Go Back’ Tweet. Now, It’s Under Fire.
By Ceylan Yeginsu September 26, 2019
LONDON — The BBC was taken to task on Thursday after it ruled that one of its veteran television anchors had broken the company’s editorial guidelines by criticizing President Trump for saying that four female American lawmakers should return to the “broken and crime-infested places from which they came.”
The reprimand of the anchor, Naga Munchetty, who works on the “BBC Breakfast” show, set off outrage among journalists and others on social media, including BBC staff.
“Right now, there is a lot of bewilderment among BAME staff,” a BBC correspondent, Sangita Myska, said in a Twitter post, using an acronym for black, Asian and minority ethnic workers. “There is unique self-censoring that BAMEs do across all industries & workplaces.”
In response to her tweet, another presenter, Matthew Price, wrote, “There’s a lot of bewilderment (and some anger) among non-BAME staff too.”
Ms. Munchetty’s comments came during an exchange in July with fellow anchor Dan Walker after an interview with a Trump supporter. Ms. Munchetty put the president’s Twitter remarks into the context of racism.
“Every time I have been told, as a woman of color, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism,” she said. “Now, I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean.”
She went on to say that it had made her “absolutely furious that a man in that position thinks it’s O.K. to skirt the lines by using language like that.”
“I’ve been told as a woman of colour to ‘go home’…”@BBCNaga shares her experience as we discuss the reaction to comments made by President Trump. pic.twitter.com/u0HL5tEdgt
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) July 17, 2019
In a series of tweets in July, the American president said that four minority congresswomen should “go back” to the countries they came from.
Ms. Munchetty’s critical remarks were shared by hundreds of thousands of people on social media, including official BBC accounts, until the company received a single complaint from a viewer. The issue was referred to the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit, which ruled on Wednesday that Ms. Munchetty’s conduct had broken its impartiality rules.
The unit said its editorial guidelines “do not allow for journalists to give their opinions about the individual making the remarks or their motives for doing so — in this case President Trump.”
“While Ms. Munchetty was entitled to give a personal response to the phrase ‘go back to your own country,’ as it was rooted in her own experience, over all her comments went beyond what the guidelines allow for,” a spokeswoman for the BBC said.
Ms. Munchetty could not be reached for comment.
Critics pounced on the Executive Complaints Unit, saying it had put too much weight on one viewer complaint while ignoring the broad impact of Mr. Trump’s comments.
“When you think about what those (mostly) older white men have got away with saying on the BBC and Twitter day after day this is a quite perplexing finding,” a Channel 4 anchor, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, wrote in a Twitter post.
When you think about what those (mostly) older white men have got away with saying on the BBC and Twitter day after day this is a quite perplexing finding. https://t.co/k8CYUc1irS
— Krishnan Guru-Murthy (@krishgm) September 25, 2019
Piers Morgan, who hosts a rival show on ITV and considers himself a friend of Mr. Trump, also took to Twitter to criticize the decision.
“Her words were powerful & necessary. Shameful censorship.”
Several BBC journalists said they would ask the director general, Tony Hall, to review the ruling, saying the corporation’s reputation, especially among minority communities, was at risk.
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, described the decision as “astonishing.”
“Telling people to ‘go back’ to ‘places from which they came’ is racist,” he added. “Naga Munchetty stated a fact,” he wrote on Twitter. She shared experiences of racism she’s suffered. That can’t be at odds with any editorial guidelines. The BBC must explain this astonishing decision.”
It was not clear whether the BBC would take any action as a result of the ruling. The company said a decision on that, if any, would be posted on its online complaints pages.
Source: Ney York Times, Edited by Admin
