Iger Defends ABC News Over Accusations of Liberal Bias

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger defended ABC News and one of its anchors, former Democratic party advisor George Stephanopoulos, against charges of liberal bias when pressed to do so Thursday by a shareholder who works for a conservative advocacy group.

"Are we perfect? No. But I believe the overall presentation of ABC News, the reputation of ABC News, is one that we are and will continue to be proud of," Iger told the shareholder.

"We're well aware of the George Stephanopoulos situation. I watch George often. George is a person of integrity ... we believe that George is presenting to his public a fair and unbiased look at news," he said.

Robert Iger

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Iger said he saw the anchor interview the various presidential candidates and he was satisfied the interviews were fair.

"He seems to be equally aggressive in terms of looking for criticism, looking for applause, demanding facts and opinions from all of them. I assure you, if we felt George was not presenting it fairly or were bias, he would not be on our air," he said. "It's something we take very, very seriously, and we monitor closely."

The shareholder reminded Iger that he asked the CEO to ensure ABC News was free from bias at the annual meeting three years ago, and he wanted to know "one concrete step" Iger took to meet that goal. He said polls still show consumers view broadcast news as liberally biased. Iger, though, rejected the premise.

"People with one very specific set of beliefs or political opinions may view a lot of what is presented across numerous networks as not consistent with their own beliefs, and I guess it would be their conclusion that that would be bias," he said.