It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America. It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different that their voices could be that difference. It's too anti-Trump", she said it was an example of censoring journalism in order to avoid an imagined backlash and falling into the trap of false equivalence in a bid to be impartial.If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. She also made reference to her own 2020 Newsnight interview with Hollywood star Robert De Niro in which the actor accused Mr Trump of "not caring how many die" during the pandemic.Īdmitting she told her editor at the time, "we can't possibly put this out. Maitlis began her speech talking about Donald Trump's election victory in 2016 and ended by talking about him "unilaterally declared himself the winner of an election he lost" in 2020.
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She also touched on fake news and the power of social media, calling it "exceptionally favourable to the language of populism because it benefits simplistic, emotional messages that suit the elevation of grievance". We should ask why they're so afraid of scrutiny." This is often a precursor to the rejection of legitimate checks and balances. "When we hear Donald Trump or Zac Goldsmith or Nadine Dorries or Marjorie Taylor Greene talking about 'a witch-hunt', or Boris Johnson going the way of 'Deep State' chat, our senses should be primed. Image: Donald Trump speaking at a rally in Washington in January 2021 Critically, it's lose - lose for the audience. If it suits those in power to shut us up - or down - they can. That can be exploited by those crying 'bias'. "We - journalists, management teams, organisations - are primed to back down, even apologise, to prove how journalistically fair we are being.
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Urging journalists to catch up with the altered political landscape, Maitlis told the festival audience: "We're becoming anaesthetised to the rising temperature in which facts are getting lost, constitutional norms trashed, claims frequently unchallenged. She called on journalists to challenge those in power, asking why many are "so afraid of scrutiny", and namechecking politicians including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former US president Donald Trump and culture minister Nadine Dorries. Maitlis - who grabbed headlines around the world with her exclusive Prince Andrew interview in 2019, and has interviewed prime ministers, presidents and policymakers during her long career - also said being a journalist is "getting harder". Mr Sharp, who is a former banker and prominent Tory party donor, was interviewed by actor David Harewood.
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Image: David Harewood interviews BBC chairman Richard Sharp.