Juan Williams Loses Job At NPR For Telling The Truth

[DiveCon]

NPR can, and did, fire someone.

Unfortunately for NPR, that someone is well-respected by both the right and left of this nation.

and NPR can fire anyone they wish to
but there will always be repercussions if they fire someone popular

AND the reason they fired him. That is the biggest.

that too

 

[Foxfyre]

What's the problem? Why can't NPR fire someone?

NPR can, and did, fire someone.

Unfortunately for NPR, that someone is well-respected by both the right and left of this nation.

The Fox News EEOC suit didn't amount to a hill of beans but of course was played up in grand fashion by the Left because it was after all Fox News.

In my earlier life I headed a large agency with roughly 70 to 80 employees. Year after year we won the employee satisfaction polls but during my tenure we had three EEOC suits filed against us by disgruntled employees. One of those won her case. The two others did not. But stuff like that happens in just about all organizations of any size.

NPR fired Juan Williams who had been with them for 10 years. Meghan Kelley was commenting earlier tonight that he could have a successful lawsuit of his own against them because they never complained about his outside activities before. If a company does not enforce restrictive clauses for years, it cannot suddenly enforce them by firing the employee. So it is very possible NPR would be found guilty of breach of contract re Juan Williams.

It is unlikely Williams will sue, however.

But the involvement of CAIR along with mega donations Soros gave to NPR and Media Matters sure makes the whole thing stink to high heaven.

 

[Sky Dancer]

What's the problem? Why can't NPR fire someone?

NPR can, and did, fire someone.

Unfortunately for NPR, that someone is well-respected by both the right and left of this nation.

Someone so well respected shouldn't be fired?

 

[eagleseven]

What's the problem? Why can't NPR fire someone?

NPR can, and did, fire someone.

Unfortunately for NPR, that someone is well-respected by both the right and left of this nation.

Someone so well respected shouldn't be fired?

Not if your purpose is to enhance national debate.

Or stay in business.

 

[Sky Dancer]

I suspect there is more to the story than one comment.

One reason he was fired, according to Vivian Schiller, NPR’s CEO, is that the company felt he wasn’t performing the role of a news analyst:

“News analysts may not take personal public positions on controversial issues; doing so undermines their credibility as analysts, and that’s what’s happened in this situation,” said Schiller in an email to NPR member stations, some of which are upset about Williams' firing “As you all well know," she continued, "we offer views of all kinds on your air every day, but those views are expressed by those we interview – not our reporters and analysts.”
http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2010/10/21/130713285/npr-terminates-contract-with-juan-williams

 

[DiveCon]

I suspect there is more to the story than one comment.

there is

$1.8M and the Soros fight against TDFNC

 

[edthecynic]

I suspect there is more to the story than one comment.

there is

$1.8M and the Soros fight against TDFNC

SOROS DERANGEMENT SYNDROME

 

[Sky Dancer]

This latest incident with Williams centers around a collision of values: NPR's values emphasizing fact-based, objective journalism versus the tendency in some parts of the news media, notably Fox News, to promote only one side of the ideological spectrum.

The issue also is whether someone on NPR's payroll should be allowed to say something in one venue that NPR would not allow on its air. NPR’s ethics code says they cannot.

NPR, like any mainstream news outlet, expects its journalists to be thoughtful and measured in everything they say. What Williams said was deeply offensive to Muslims and inflamed, rather than contributing positively, to an important debate about the role of Muslims in America.

Williams was doing the kind of stereotyping in a public platform that is dangerous to a democracy. It puts people in categories, as types – not as individuals with much in common despite their differences.

I can only imagine how Williams, who has chronicled and championed the Civil Rights movement, would have reacted if another prominent journalist had said:

"But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see an African American male in Dashiki with a big Afro, I get worried. I get nervous."
NPR's Firing of Juan Williams Was Poorly Handled : NPR Ombudsman : NPR

 

[eagleseven]

I suspect there is more to the story than one comment.

One reason he was fired, according to Vivian Schiller, NPR’s CEO, is that the company felt he wasn’t performing the role of a news analyst:

That's not all...as Vivian put it:

Fired NPR news analyst Juan Williams should have kept his feeling about Muslims between himself and "his psychiatrist or his publicist," the network's CEO told an audience at the Atlanta Press Club earlier today.

NPR CEO Apologizes For 'Psychiatrist' Remark : The Two-Way : NPR

---

There's also the fact that Juan Williams was NPR's only African American show-host. I'm sure the lawyers will have fun with that.

 

[Sky Dancer]

NPR had thoughtful reasons for firing Williams. Williams is better off on Fox. They're having a field day over it.

 

[eagleseven]

Williams was doing the kind of stereotyping in a public platform that is dangerous to a democracy. It puts people in categories, as types – not as individuals with much in common despite their differences.

Did you actually read his full quote? Juan was specifically condemning the stereotyping that NPR claims he supported. They singled one line out of a paragraph of context...very unprofessional.

"But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see an African American male in Dashiki with a big Afro, I get worried. I get nervous."

A more appropriate analogy:

"But when I'm walking the streets at night, I got to tell you, if I see an African American male in a wifebeater and dreadlocks, I get worried. I get nervous."

 

[Sky Dancer]

No. I did not read Williams full quote. I posted Vivien Schillers response.

 

[eagleseven]

No. I did not read Williams full quote. I posted Vivien Schillers response.

The controversial comment, in context of the discussion:

“I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.

Wait a second though, wait, hold on, because if you said Timothy McVeigh, the Atlanta bomber, these people who are protesting against homosexuality at military funerals, very obnoxious, you don't say first and foremost, we got a problem with Christians. That's crazy.”

Williams is arguing against stereotyping all Christians as homophobic, and against stereotyping all Muslims as terrorists.

Here is (part) of his rebuttal of NPRs decision:

This is not a bigoted statement. It is a statement of my feelings, my fears after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 by radical Muslims. In a debate with Bill O’Reilly I revealed my fears to set up the case for not making rash judgments about people of any faith. I pointed out that the Atlanta Olympic bomber -- as well as Timothy McVeigh and the people who protest against gay rights at military funerals -- are Christians but we journalists don’t identify them by their religion.

And I made it clear that all Americans have to be careful not to let fears lead to the violation of anyone’s constitutional rights, be it to build a mosque, carry the Koran or drive a New York cab without the fear of having your throat slashed. Bill and I argued after I said he has to take care in the way he talks about the 9/11 attacks so as not to provoke bigotry.

 

[Flaylo]

Well maybe Juan should have been more careful with his words, anytime somebody says "I'm not a bigot/racist/homophobe BUT" you know something stupid is about to come out of their mouths when they put that BUT in there, Juan seemed to be contradicting himself or perhaps he realized he fucked up and tried to smooth it out.

 

[Flaylo]

Well at least NPR does fire idiots for making bigoted statements, Foxnews does jack shit and even promotes bigoted bullshit as fair and balanced, its a fucking joke. I remember foxnews still has Ann Coulter come on even after she called Middle eastern people "camel jockeys" and even tried to defend it on a segment with Alan Colmes.

 

[Ravi]

I don't want to hear a SINGLE lefty bring up someone's free speech rights for the next year, unless they start defending Juan now.

Again, this has nothing to do with the first amendment or freedom of speech. He is certainly free to say whatever he wants without fear of government censorship.

He is not entitled to a platform, however. NPR took away his platform. FAUX gave him a bigger one.

 

[Ravi]

I don't want to hear a SINGLE lefty bring up someone's free speech rights for the next year, unless they start defending Juan now.

He is still free to say whatever he likes.

A defense would be:

1. He should get his job back.
2. He was wrongly discharged.
3. NPR needs to be punished in some fashion.
4. Who ever made the call to fire him should not be associated with NPR.

He violated his employment contract.

 

[Ravi]

NPR is racist that's why Juan was fired. Did you notice Vivian what's her name was white?

She fired the ONLY black man on the NPR staff.

Very far from the truth...and he wasn't fired because he is black. But of course you idiots would use the fact that he is as a tool.

 

[Ravi]

NPR LIKES black people, they just don't necessarily want to...you know...work with them. Particularly when they won't fit into the stereotype.

Come on...It's not about the color of his skin AT ALL.



IMO the fact that he made that statement reinforces their letting him go.

"I don't fit in their box. I'm not a predictable, black liberal," he told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.

Uh-uh, no he di'int. Did Juan just play the race card?


Seems like there's plenty of race-baiting going on about this topic anyways.

Yes he did...sad.

O'Reilly probably patted him on the back and said, there, there, blacks can't be racist.

 

[Annie]

I don't want to hear a SINGLE lefty bring up someone's free speech rights for the next year, unless they start defending Juan now.

Again, this has nothing to do with the first amendment or freedom of speech. He is certainly free to say whatever he wants without fear of government censorship.

He is not entitled to a platform, however. NPR took away his platform. FAUX gave him a bigger one.

FOX doesn't get tax money to preach its vision for the world. To make a profit, their programming has to be something that a significant percentage of viewers want to watch.

NPR doesn't have the same demands. They can and do have many programs few, if any care to listen to. PBS same thing, while some extremely great programs have aired, few wish to watch.

Stop the funding, let the markets and targeting decide.

People ask all the time, 'where would you cut taxes?' Both these outlets and the endowment of the arts are one easy choice.