The Guardian’s editor Katharine Viner has written to staff in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s “upsetting” US election victory offering free counselling for those unhappy with the outcome.
Viner, 53, circulated an email to employees following Trump’s November 5 success in which she claimed readers would be turning to the newspaper for “hope”.
She also praised Guardian journalists’ “brilliant” election coverage as the paper ran with headlines including “Fear triumphs over hope as Trump wins the presidency”.
But she told staff how it has “exposed alarming fault lines on many fronts” – and pledged to examine how The Guardian will go on to cover issues like climate change in the wake of a Trump win.
Trump won the race to the White House on Wednesday morning
REUTERS
The editor wrote: “Our US teams in particular have covered the election with brilliant reporting.
“They have done it with great commitment and focus, serving readers in America and across the world.
“They will be most directly affected by the result.
“If you’re not in the US, do contact your American colleagues to offer your support.
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‘If you’re not in the US, do contact your American colleagues to offer your support,’ Viner wrote
GETTY
“It’s upsetting for many others, too. If you want to talk about it, your manager and members of the leadership team are all available, as is the People team.
“There is also free access to free support services, which I’ve outlined at the end of this email.”
Then, writing in her own column on Wednesday, Viner warned of Trump’s “Project 2025” as she said his impending second term “is a risk to a free press”.
“We will stand up to these threats, but it will take brave, well-funded independent journalism,” she said.
Readers would be turning to The Guardian for ‘hope’, its editor said
PA
As of Thursday afternoon, US media has Trump projected to win 295 of the country’s Electoral College votes, with just a few states yet to be called.
He won the race to the White House on Wednesday morning as Wisconsin voted his way – mere minutes after he told supporters: “I will fight for you, for your family and your future every single day.
“I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve.
“This will truly be the golden age of America,” Trump said.
A spokesman for The Guardian said the counselling offered is an “employee assistance programme – a function that any responsible international media organisation has available for staff at all times”.