A former ABC News senior correspondent tore into parent company Disney on Thursday, accusing it of buckling under pressure from Donald Trump.
Terry Moran, a veteran correspondent and anchor until his ouster in June, called out the mega entertainment company as he railed against cable news networks for “failing the American people” during an interview on the In Good Faith with Philip DeFranco podcast on Thursday.
“Disney is a multi-billion-dollar business. ABC is a little tiny speck in that giant empire,” he said. “The last thing that the head of Disney or anybody in these corporate offices wants is a problem with the president of the United States because somebody in the news division tweeted something.”
Moran, 65, appeared to be referencing his own tenure at ABC, where he was let go after sharing posts critical of Trump and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
During the interview, Moran was candid about his bleak view of today’s network coverage under a litigious presidency sensitive to press criticism.
“They have corporate pressure on them and rules [about] what they can say and what they can’t say,” Moran said of his network colleagues. “The facts in front of them are eluding their coverage.”
ABC and Disney didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
Moran shared his behind-the-scenes knowledge of news network coverage, claiming that there is “frustration” among cable correspondents regarding the limits imposed by corporate pressure.
Moran went on to express his belief that the American people desire news coverage that does not claim to be objective but provides sufficient information and is fair in its analysis.
“I think what people are looking for is not a depersonalized news,” Moran said, “You’re reporting on it from who you are. That’s your credibility.”
Moran, who now runs his own news Substack, and podcast host Philip DeFranco discussed the changing news landscape in the context of a potential chilling effect from the Trump administration’s legal battles with cable news networks over coverage unfavorable to the President.
In December, ABC News settled a defamation case for $15 million after Trump sued the network over comments made by George Stephanopoulos. In July, CBS’ parent company, Paramount, settled with Trump for $16 million over a lawsuit regarding a 2024 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
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