ABC News fired veteran reporter Terry Moran last month for violating its news policies after he criticized President Trump and top White House aide Stephen Miller as “haters” in a social media post. Moran later defended his comments, stating in interviews with The Bulwark and The New York Times that he didn’t regret his statements about Trump and Miller because he thought they were true.

While ABC acted appropriately in initially suspending Moran for breaking its rules about objectivity, fairness and professionalism, it went too far in firing him.

As a mainstream network news outlet, ABC generally tries to be objective, impartial and balanced, giving both sides of an issue. There is no such thing as perfect objectivity, but mainstream news outlets should strive to be as objective and unbiased as possible. Doing so distinguishes them from advocacy journalism outlets like Fox News and MSNBC. The media watchdog site Allsides rates ABC News as leaning very slightly to the left and very close to the center.

Generally, reporters should try to avoid giving their opinions. If they do give an opinion, it should focus on issues and shouldn’t........

© The Hill