The Wall Street Journal will stop referring to the countries subject to President Trump’s travel ban as “majority-Muslim” nations after editor in chief Gerard Baker said in a staff email that a term used widely in the press is “very loaded.”
“The reason they’ve been chosen is not because they’re majority-Muslim but because they’re on the list of countries Obama identified as countries of concern,” Baker wrote to top editors, according to BuzzFeed, which obtained the message.
BuzzFeed reported that some journalists at the newspaper are upset by Baker’s order, which immediately raised eyebrows outside the Journal’s newsroom, too. Baker’s rationale aligns closely with White House talking points, and he recently faced criticism from fellow journalists after he said he would be reluctant to authorize use of the word “lie” to describe false statements made by Trump.
Plus, the Journal is owned by Trump supporter Rupert Murdoch, making it an easy target for accusations that it is too soft on the new president.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Callum Borchers
{Matzav.com}
