Former ABC News correspondent Terry Moran asserted on a Monday Substack conversation with Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt that journalists must ascribe “values” to the subjects of their reporting.
ABC News fired Moran in June due to his tirade against White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, whom he alleged was a “world-class hater” in a now-deleted X post. During the Substack conversation, Schmidt praised Moran for describing Miller as such and the former ABC news reporter argued that value judgments were crucial in journalism. (RELATED: ‘It Was Embarrassing’: Sean Spicer Goes Off On Media For ‘Disgusting’ Coverage Of Army Parade)
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“We must use the language of values in covering the world because the world is made up of that — of right and wrong, of love and hate,” Moran said. “And if you can’t, as a journalist, describe and perceive those values at work, good and evil, then you aren’t really doing your job. You’re collecting a paycheck, and it was a pretty good one, but you aren’t really doing your job.”
Moran also said on “The Bulwark” in June after his firing that journalists do not have a duty to aim for impartiality in their coverage.
“My own feeling is you don’t sacrifice your citizenship as a journalis[t]. And your job is not to be objective,” Moran said. “There is no Mount Olympus of objectivity where a Mandarin class of wise people have no feelings about what happens in their society.”
“We’re all in this together. What you have to be is fair and accurate. And I would refer to the interview with [President Donald Trump] that I did or a lot of my work,” he continued. “And I would also say that this, while very hot, is an observation, a description that is accurate and true.”
However, an ABC spokesperson told CNN’s Brian Stelter that Moran’s post blatantly breached ABC News’ policies, specifically noting the outlet mandates “the highest standards of objectivity, fairness and professionalism” for its reporters.
Miller alleged that Moran’s tirade indicated the corporate media consisted of “radicals adopting a journalist’s pose” and that “Terry pulled off his mask.”
Moreover, Moran acknowledged in a July 29 Substack piece that ABC News was a “biased” organization.
“Were we biased? Yes. Almost inadvertently, I’d say,” Moran wrote. “ABC News has the same problem so many leading cultural institutions do in America: A lack of viewpoint diversity.”
“It is no secret. There are hardly any people who supported Donald Trump at ABC News or the other corporate/legacy/mainstream news networks,” he added. “And this is bound to impact coverage, not so much out of malevolent bias … but more out of what is a kind of deafness.”
ABC News paid $15 million to settle Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the network in December after “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos falsely asserted in March 2024 that Trump was found liable of rape.
ABC News debate moderators Linsey Davis and David Muir also received backlash for fact-checking Trump more frequently than former Vice President Kamala Harris during their sole debate of the 2024 presidential election. Although Harris made multiple misstatements, the moderators did not interrupt her or fact-check her like they did Trump.
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