The academic and researcher John Ackerman He assured today on his Twitter account that there is a campaign against him to restrict his freedom of expression. In addition, he indicated that what happened during the last broadcast of the program “John and Sabina”, in Canal Once, where he had no interaction with his former partner, the playwright Sabina Berman, “It does not imply any aggression”, but, on the contrary, demonstrated “absolute respect for the words and freedom of expression of Mrs. Berman”.
The breakup of Sabina Berman and John Ackerman was made public on November 3, during the broadcast of the penultimate program, where he was seen tense. Days later, those differences led them to Twitter where accusations were launched ranging from machismo to sabotage. On Tuesday the 10th, the discussion escalated to the television screen again.
Given the situation, Channel Once announced that, common agreement, “John and Sabina” ended early. However, Sabina Berman announced that there was an edit in the program, as Ackerman resigned during the recording, but was deleted from the broadcast that was seen on the screen. So far, the television station has reported that the investigator will have a solo program next year and is in talks with the playwright for a co-production between Once and Channel 14.
Ackerman had been silent on this situation until today. In a Twitter thread, he stated ten points “to contribute to a fair and respectful collective reflection,” on what he considered an “attempt by the opposition to impose programming and control the contents of Channel Once.”
Thus, the researcher from the UNAM Legal Research Institute indicated that during the six-year terms of Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto “it was censored in the most grotesque way by radio and television, public and private” and that today “it is sought to give continuity to this same strategy of censorship and silence “.
Also read: “John resigned from the air, but they edited it. I did not want to be his patiño “: Sabina Berman
“But the one who exercises the censorship this time is not the government but powerful networks of the private sector and of the ‘civil society’ linked to the old regime,” he wrote.
In addition, he argued that he has been a “target” for the opposition because he is one of the few people who from the media and the academic sphere “has managed to weave and widely spread a narrative in favor of the 4T” and because his wife, Irma Eréndira Sandoval, Secretary of the Public Function, “is the main person in charge of the crusade of President López Obrador against corruption with which a large part of the actors who are now in the opposition were accomplices.”
Regarding what he described as a “dispute” with the playwright Sabina Berman, he assured that “it has absolutely nothing to do with the gender issue” and assured that he has never exercised any direct or indirect harassment or aggression for gender reasons, neither in the private sphere nor in any of the spaces in which it has collaborated.
“I am a man deeply committed to full gender equality and both my family and my work colleagues can attest that I have an absolutely flawless track record in the matter and that every day I actively participate in the frontal fight against the patriarchal system that we it hurts everyone, “he said.
And he added: “The true perpetrator in the context of the now-defunct ‘John and Sabina’ program on Channel Once was not a server but the playwright. Their constant interruptions and mockery during the program’s broadcasts are very well known to the audience. full exercise of his freedom of expression but with evident lack of respect for his co-worker as well as for the guests “.
Regarding the opposition’s attempt to impose the programming and control the contents of the @ChannelOnceTV I share ten points to contribute to a fair and respectful collective reflection pic.twitter.com/dtDtdX8ZWu
— John M. Ackerman (@JohnMAckerman) November 14, 2020
Ackerman assured that Berman’s attitude “was also reproduced behind the scenes with permanent attacks against the members of the production, especially towards the women of the team.”
He also indicated that Berman has publicly accused him on social networks of being a “thief”, “vandal”, “stalker” and “misogynist”, “without providing any evidence that could support his statements.”
Regarding his attitude during the last program, where he ignored Berman’s approach to discuss the violent dispersal of protesters in Cancun, he indicated:
“My silence in response to the outbursts and interruptions of the playwright, totally outside the production script and in open violation of the previously agreed format, during the program on November 10, does not imply any aggression against her, but rather everything On the contrary, it shows absolute respect for Mrs. Berman’s words and freedom of expression along with a willingness to move forward with the program and not star in an unnecessary public performance in the presence of the Secretary of Public Education, Esteban Moctezuma, whom we had invited to talk about the new normal in the educational system. “
In this sense, Berman has indicated in social networks that the discussion of a conjunctural issue at the beginning of each broadcast was part of the script established for each program.
Ackerman explained that there is a campaign that seeks to cancel the possibility of having a new television program on Channel Eleven. And it is that, he said, the opposition wanted to censor and control the contents of the “John and Sabina” program, which he had designed and put together.
Read also: “Audiences do not have to participate in conflicts between drivers”: Canal Once hearing defender
At the beginning of the program launched in May 2019, “John and Sabina” was accused on different occasions by users of social networks, as well as by specialists and columnists of having propaganda overtones in favor of the “Fourth Transformation”.
And he declared: “What is sought is to limit my freedom of expression by closing the spaces where I can disseminate my ideas.”
“It is no coincidence, for example, that the voices that have most promoted the public lynching against me in recent days are precisely characters who work in the country’s private television and radio networks,” he said.
Finally, he indicated that he is used to attacks. “Let them bark, Sancho, a sign that we are moving forward,” he wrote and asked his followers for support in the face of this “new” attack that seeks to “affect” their freedom of expression.
work
– .
