On Thursday, the BBC apologized to President Trump for the splicing of two parts of a speech Mr. Trump gave in front of the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, hours before a crowd rampaged on Capitol Hill. The BBC said it would not agree to a settlement with Trump, whose attorneys demanded $1 billion in damages threatening a lawsuit against the public broadcaster.
“President Trump’s repeated lawsuits and threats of lawsuits targeting newsrooms at home and abroad directly contradicts the United States’ 250-year fight in support of a free and independent press,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss.
“It’s essential that newsrooms make corrections and acknowledge mistakes, however, threatening or filing lawsuits against newsrooms is an embarrassing tactic for the leader of a nation where a free and independent press is an essential pillar of democracy.”
“The NewsGuild-CWA stands with our family at the National Union of Journalists and BBC journalists and media workers. We join the NUJ’s call defending the professional integrity of NUJ members at the BBC and support their demand for sustainable funding to safeguard public service journalism.”