RT reporter quits on air in protest of Russian occupation of Crimea
Eric Pfeiffer March 6, 2014, 3:17 pm
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RT reporter quits on air in protest of Russian occupation of Crimea
It’s been a strange week for RT, the state-owned Russian news agency.
On Tuesday, on-air anchor Abby Martin criticized Russia’s occupation of Crimea. And then on Wednesday, fellow anchor Liz Wahl announced that she was quitting the network in protest.
“As a reporter on this network, I face many ethical and moral challenges,” Wahl said at the end of Wednesday’s 5pm broadcast. “Especially me personally, coming from a family who grandparents … came here as refugees during the Hungarian revolution. Ironically, to escape the Soviet forces.”
“That is why personally I cannot be part of a network funded by the Russian government that whitewashes the actions of Putin,” Wahl continued. “I’m proud to be an American and believe in disseminating the truth and that is why, after this newscast, I’m resigning.”
Liz Wahl's colleague Abby Martin criticized Russia's occupation of Crimea earlier in the week, with the network claiming it would send her to Crimea to further her understanding of the situation there. Photo: Youtube
Many are praising Wahl’s on-air resignation. But at the same time, it’s a fair to question Wahl’s sincerity. RT mocked Wahl’s comments in a statement, saying:
“When a journalist disagrees with the editorial position of his or her organization, the usual course of action is to address those grievances with the editor, and, if they cannot be resolved, to quit like a professional. But when someone makes a big public show of a personal decision, it is nothing more than a self-promotional stunt.”
After all, didn’t she know she was working for a state-owned news agency from the very beginning? And if she objected to the network’s editorial stance why did she continue working there for more than two years?
Wahl addressed such criticism in an interview with The Daily Beast on Wednesday, saying, “When I came on board from the beginning I knew what I was getting into, but I think I was more cautious and tried to stay as objective as I could.”
However, Wahl now says, “It actually makes me feel sick that I worked there,” Wahl told the Beast. “It’s not a sound news organization, not when your agenda is making America look bad.”
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