TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis defended Univision’s interview with former President Donald Trump in a memo to staffers after uproar from the left.
In the memo, Davis insisted the network would not be “deterred by partisan interests and agenda-driven advocacy.”
The CEO of Univision breaks his silence. Wade Davis, says it’s part of a change in political strategy for Univision to be more non-partisan.
TelevisaUnivision CEO Defends Trump Interview Despite Backlash https://t.co/wlJ1oQk8Yi
— Mike Madrid (@madrid_mike) November 22, 2023
Earlier this month, journalist Enrique Acevedo sat down with Trump for a wide-ranging interview from Mar-a-Lago, and some liberals have expressed outrage that the Spanish-language network offered a platform to Trump.
Others have insisted liberal anchor Jorge Ramos should have conducted the interview because he would have pushed back harder on Trump’s remarks.
From Fox News:
Fox News Digital obtained an internal memo that Davis sent to all U.S. employees on Tuesday evening, where he noted the “continued cycle of coverage” around the Trump interview, and said the network embraced the responsibility “to provide our audience the information to make decisions based on accurate coverage of the election process.”
“We will reject all efforts to destabilize this vision, including from partisans within the press or the political machinery. Univision is not a tool of any party or organization. Univision is an independent news organization, and we will not be deterred by partisan interests and agenda-driven advocacy,” he wrote.
Davis noted the huge importance of the Hispanic vote in determining the 2024 election outcome.
Davis said “engaging with the entire Hispanic community in all spheres is the foundation of TelevisaUnivision’s mission” as the network seeks to “inform and empower” Spanish-speaking audiences.
“We made a decision to adopt a strategy that is different than what some other major networks are using, which has been labeled as partisan. Univision’s news strategy is one that is non-partisan and objective, and we serve our audience by being welcoming of competing issues, ideas, candidates and parties,” Davis wrote.
My question for the TelevisaUnivision executive:
Do you think Trump's campaign to convince Americans that their election system is one big fraud — a successful campaign among Republican voters — undermines your company's stated mission to encourage Latinos to register and vote? pic.twitter.com/f0AdSDCb6Z
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) November 18, 2023
Davis said the network was there to serve the audience, not a political party.
“To that end, interviewing the current Republican frontrunner, according to the polls, the sitting President, and any other candidates is our responsibility if we are to present the full landscape of ideas,” he wrote.
The TelevisaUnivision honcho noted the interview with Trump was the network’s first in 22 years of a current or former Republican president.
“There have been many interviews of a current or former Democratic President over that same period. Further, we have offered, and welcome, an interview with President Biden on reciprocal terms and believe our viewers would greatly appreciate hearing from the President,” Davis wrote.
