National Press Club Statement on Nexstar Decision To Air LIV Golf on The CW

WASHINGTON, January 19 – Following is a statement from National Press Club President Jen Judson on the news that Nexstar Media Group has decided to carry the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Tournament on The CW Network.

“We are deeply disappointed that a company that makes money from news like Nexstar would agree to participate in such a shameful PR stunt as LIV Golf, which is fundamentally designed to rehabilitate the Saudi reputation, tarnished irreparably by the state-ordered gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018. We are left to wonder what if anything Nexstar stands for. You cannot have a brand in news and act this way. Saudi Arabia murdered a Washington Post journalist and cut him up with a bone saw.

Riyadh wants to use golf to get Americans to forget about murder. We must not let them get away with it. We call on Nexstar employees – many of whom are journalists -- to demand management explain why they have partnered with the murderers of a journalist. We urge Nexstar to do the right thing and cancel their bloody golf show. And if they don’t drop the program here is what we can do: don’t watch it; and write each sponsor asking them not to sponsor.”

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world’s leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the U.S. and worldwide.

Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for The National Press Club