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“Jorge Ramos Takes a Stand: No More Softballs for Trump!

On Wednesday, Univision News anchor Jorge Ramos criticized his own network for its approach to covering U.S. President Donald Trump. Ramos’ comments came after Univision aired its first-ever interview with Trump since the 2016 presidential election and followed a series of reports which Ramos felt were too soft. In a tweet, Ramos called out the company, writing, “For more than three years now, Univision has been too soft in interviews with Trump. His political power has increased and if we don’t confront him we are complicit in his lies and manipulation. He is the President of the United States. Not just any politician.” Ramos, a veteran journalist, has long been a critic of Trump’s policies, and has been particularly critical of the administration’s immigration policies. He has repeatedly called out media companies who he said have failed to hold Trump and other powerful politicians accountable and recently wrote a book detailing what Ramon called the “anti-immigrant” policies of the United States. Ramos’ criticism of his own network came after Univision aired an interview with Trump, which Ramos said was too soft and “largely failed to challenge the President or even ask difficult questions”. He accused the network of forgetting its mission to produce high-quality journalism and its responsibility to challenge political power, questioning if Univision was merely “serving up puff pieces to spice up its ratings”. In response to Ramos’ comments, a spokesperson for Univision said, “Univision stands by its commitment to holding power to account, no matter who holds that office. The recent interview with the President of the United States was testament to our commitment and was conducted with the respect and professionalism that Univision’s viewers and users expect and deserve.” Ramos’ criticism of his own network highlights the difficult position facing networks and cable news outlets today, particularly in an age where trust in journalism is on the decline. It is increasingly important for networks to be critical and ask difficult questions in order to demonstrate their commitment to holding power to account and to provide viewers with accurate and balanced information.