Another One Bites The Dust

[ncexnyc]

It would appear that expressing one's honest opinion when asked a question is not a wise move for a public figure.

http://www.aolnews.com/discuss/npr-fires-analyst-juan-williams-for-saying-muslims-make-him-nervous/19683232#gcpDiscussPageUrlAnchor

[theAlaskanBear]

It would appear that expressing one's honest opinion when asked a question is not a wise move for a public figure.

http://www.aolnews.com/discuss/npr-fires-analyst-juan-williams-for-saying-muslims-make-him-nervous/19683232#gcpDiscussPageUrlAnchor

Without getting into the issues of the content of what he said...the line between opinions/pundits/journalism is becoming so increasingly blurred these days, as are questions about what is public and what is private. News organizations are having to make tough decisions about what is appropriate for journalists to say because almost everything is becoming on-the-record and available for media dissemination.

Also I understand that in Juan's dual Fox/NPR gig he has been warned before about saying inflammatory things on Fox News.

The NPR ethics code:

'
In appearing on TV or other media including electronic Web-based forums, NPR journalists should not express views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist. They should not participate in shows electronic forums, or blogs that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis,'" Schiller wrote

[cato]

It would appear that expressing one's honest opinion when asked a question is not a wise move for a public figure.

http://www.aolnews.com/discuss/npr-fires-analyst-juan-williams-for-saying-muslims-make-him-nervous/19683232#gcpDiscussPageUrlAnchor

Well, it depends on one's honest opinion, doesn't it?

Certainly, there is nothing new about an employer firing someone over saying something inconsistent with the company line. I don't necessarily agree with NPR here, but I can see how they don't want someone who says "Muslims scare me" as their standard bearer.

[Mal]

Wondering how long until this thread is locked up for PPB reasons.

Before the curtain closes, I think a fuller picture needs to show that Williams, while previously appearing on FOX, referred to the First Lady of the United States as "Stokely Carmichael in a dress" and one who "blames America first." He'd taken on the role of pundit in his crossover FOX gigs many times before, so much so as to undermine his authority as a journalist and have NPR long ago ask him to stop using his NPR title while appearing there. His being canned after this episode should come as a surprise to no one.

[PSurprise]

to enjoy the lack of television in my house. We don't have to listen to the dribble that comes out of the mouths of people like Juan Williams, Bill O'Reilly, Rick Sanchez, etc.

[Bluedog]

to enjoy the lack of television in my house. We don't have to listen to the dribble that comes out of the mouths of people like Juan Williams, Bill O'Reilly, Rick Sanchez, etc.

Uh, Duke basketball? That's on TV last I checked...

[Ping Lin]

Uh, Duke basketball? That's on TV last I checked...


You're really showing your age there, Bluedog.

[Duvall]

You're really showing your age there, Bluedog.

To be fair, all that other crap is on the computer as well.

[Bluedog]

To be fair, all that other crap is on the computer as well.

And who wants to watch a basketball game on a 17" monitor that is potentially streaming poorly? I prefer to watch on a 46"+ HDTV with others. I realize it can be done (and I'll be doing it for all the ESPNU games through justin tv or channelsurfing), but it's not ideal. Live sports and news are really the two key things that keep people from completely dropping their TVs in my mind. Hulu etc gets all the shows....and there are websites out there that stream the networks live, but the quality varies widely. Especially for something fast paced like sports.

[4decadedukie]

The following comes from DC's all news radio station, WTOP: NPR allegedly terminated Williams because its ANALYSTS (and he is in that job category) are supposedly not authorized to express personal opinions, only to provide factual materials (presumably, this policy applies even when they work other jobs for separate news organizations). Yet Cokie Roberts and Nina Totenberg (both NPR ANALYSTS) were quoted by WTOP offering clearly politically-focused OPINIONS, and neither has been fired nor reprimanded. Obviously (according to this WTOP report), this suggests that NPR applies its internal strictures inconsistently, with those endorsing a more leftist position receiving greater tolerance than those who promote more conservative views.

Please note, I have carefully crafted the foregoing to NOT endorse any political viewpoint -- rather only to report this interesting conclusion broadcast today by WTOP -- in order to adhere to DBR's apolitical requirements.

[Duvall]

The following comes from DC's all news radio station, WTOP: NPR allegedly terminated Williams because its ANALYSTS (and he is in that job category) are supposedly not authorized to express personal opinions, only to provide factual materials (presumably, this policy applies even when they work other jobs for separate news organizations). Yet Cokie Roberts and Nina Totenberg (both NPR ANALYSTS) were quoted by WTOP offering clearly politically-focused OPINIONS, and neither has been fired nor reprimanded. Obviously (according to this WTOP report), this suggests that NPR applies its internal strictures inconsistently, with those endorsing a more leftist position receiving greater tolerance than those who promote more conservative views.

To be fair, NPR may also have been swayed by the fact that Williams is a remarkably dull-witted and uninteresting commentator.

[darthur]

The following comes from DC's all news radio station, WTOP: NPR allegedly terminated Williams because its ANALYSTS (and he is in that job category) are supposedly not authorized to express personal opinions, only to provide factual materials (presumably, this policy applies even when they work other jobs for separate news organizations). Yet Cokie Roberts and Nina Totenberg (both NPR ANALYSTS) were quoted by WTOP offering clearly politically-focused OPINIONS, and neither has been fired nor reprimanded. Obviously (according to this WTOP report), this suggests that NPR applies its internal strictures inconsistently, with those endorsing a more leftist position receiving greater tolerance than those who promote more conservative views.

You don't get fired because you break the contract. The contract is there to give NPR a legal means to fire you after they have already decided that you are an embarrassment / liability. Codifying exactly what that means in legal terms is impossible, so NPR, like all companies, protects themselves by making the terms in the contract broader.

In this case, Williams pretty clearly got fired not just for stating an opinion, but for stating one that would be legitimately offensive to many listeners. There are plenty of places for that kind of commentary, but NPR is not one of them.

[roywhite]

You don't get fired because you break the contract. The contract is there to give NPR a legal means to fire you after they have already decided that you are an embarrassment / liability. Codifying exactly what that means in legal terms is impossible, so NPR, like all companies, protects themselves by making the terms in the contract broader.

In this case, Williams pretty clearly got fired not just for stating an opinion, but for stating one that would be legitimately offensive to many listeners. There are plenty of places for that kind of commentary, but NPR is not one of them.

Was it even an opinion? Stating he feels nervous when he sees Muslims on a flight is more of an honest feeling.

NPR not a place for commentary??, or just that type of commentary? The commentary was not made on NPR, by the way, and Juan was a 10-yr employee.

Totally ridiculous IMO;the reaction to the firing seems strongly negative towards NPR and across the political spectrum.

[Ping Lin]

Yeah, I have to agree with the general tenor of this thread: I don't think it was just the one comment about Muslims that got Williams fired, but the combination of a) saying the comment, b) already being on thin ice with NPR, and c) not being a particularly important or vital part of NPR that did it. I'm not entirely sure about whether he should have been fired, but if you're going to fire Nasr and Sanchez, well, firing Williams at least demonstrates some consistency.

For a nice little antidote, here's a webpage that should get Williams scared:
Muslims wearing things. (http://muslimswearingthings.tumblr.com)