Board member Ian Murray of the Society of Editors, a major British journalists association, resigned on Wednesday. He decided to step down after a storm of criticism over his response to Meghan Markle’s interview in which he denied there is racism in British media, reports BBC.
In the interview with Oprah Winfrey, Markle and Prince Harry spoke about, among other things, the way they have been treated by the British tabloid press and how this has contributed to their wanting to leave the United Kingdom. Prince Harry said that he finds some of the British media intolerant and that this affects the public reading the newspapers.
Murray responded on Tuesday that British media are not racist or bigoted. He calls the statements of the prince and his wife an attack on the British press. Following these statements by Murray, several major media outlets and other stakeholders distanced themselves from the National Press Awards, which the Society of Editors is organizing at the end of March.
The Society issued a statement on Wednesday that the organization does not support Murray’s statements. “What he said is not in line with what we all know, which is that there is still a lot to be done in the media when it comes to diversity and inclusion.”
Murray then announced his resignation. In his statement, he says he does not think his earlier response defends racism, but that he could have condemned bigotry more.
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