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Related: About this forumBBC staff complain over Munchetty reprimand for Trump remark
Source: The Guardian
BBC staff complain over Munchetty reprimand for Trump remark
Complaints unit ruling against Naga Munchetty comes amid concerns broadcaster falls short on diversity issues
Jim Waterson Media editor
Thu 26 Sep 2019 13.39 BST
First published on Thu 26 Sep 2019 12.49 BST
BBC staff have publicly turned on their employer after the Breakfast show presenter Naga Munchetty was found to have breached the corporations editorial guidelines after criticising Donald Trump for telling black politicians to go home.
Munchetty was ruled to have overstepped the mark when she put comments by the US president in the context of racism. Furious staff have pointed out that the complaints unit is dominated by older white men who may not understand the true impact of Trumps words.
Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism, Munchetty told viewers in July, during a discussion with her co-host Dan Walker. She went on to add that she was absolutely furious a man in that position thinks its OK to skirt the lines by using language like that.
Sangita Myska, a BBC correspondent, said there is a lot of bewilderment among BAME staff about the decision, while the former China editor Carrie Gracie has said the ruling was perplexing given telling the truth and celebrating diversity is a core BBC value and we speak out when something is not right.
-snip-
Complaints unit ruling against Naga Munchetty comes amid concerns broadcaster falls short on diversity issues
Jim Waterson Media editor
Thu 26 Sep 2019 13.39 BST
First published on Thu 26 Sep 2019 12.49 BST
BBC staff have publicly turned on their employer after the Breakfast show presenter Naga Munchetty was found to have breached the corporations editorial guidelines after criticising Donald Trump for telling black politicians to go home.
Munchetty was ruled to have overstepped the mark when she put comments by the US president in the context of racism. Furious staff have pointed out that the complaints unit is dominated by older white men who may not understand the true impact of Trumps words.
Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism, Munchetty told viewers in July, during a discussion with her co-host Dan Walker. She went on to add that she was absolutely furious a man in that position thinks its OK to skirt the lines by using language like that.
Sangita Myska, a BBC correspondent, said there is a lot of bewilderment among BAME staff about the decision, while the former China editor Carrie Gracie has said the ruling was perplexing given telling the truth and celebrating diversity is a core BBC value and we speak out when something is not right.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/sep/26/bbc-staff-complain-after-colleague-reprimanded-over-trump-remarks
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BBC staff complain over Munchetty reprimand for Trump remark (Original Post)
Eugene
Sep 2019
OP
muriel_volestrangler
(101,160 posts)1. BBC reverses decision on Naga Munchetty complaint
The BBC's director general Lord Hall has reversed a decision to partially uphold a complaint against Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty.
He told staff that Munchetty's words were not "sufficient to merit a partial uphold" of the complaint against her.
...
On Monday, the director general reiterated that "racism is racism and the BBC is not impartial on the topic".
The reversal of the decision comes after dozens of black actors and broadcasters called on the BBC to overturn its decision.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49883952
He told staff that Munchetty's words were not "sufficient to merit a partial uphold" of the complaint against her.
...
On Monday, the director general reiterated that "racism is racism and the BBC is not impartial on the topic".
The reversal of the decision comes after dozens of black actors and broadcasters called on the BBC to overturn its decision.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49883952
The attempts to explain the complaints unit's decision never made sense. As far as I can tell, they were interpreting "impartial" to mean "you must never criticise any politician, even a foreign one, even when they say something we agree is racist".