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Juan Williams

Frank Ferreri said:
The end result of all this is Williams comes out the winner. Fox gets great PR and NPR the loser.
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In the world of journalism, there are no winners or losers. It's about what's right. I'm very uncomfortable with this world of personality-oriented journalism that all of the cable news channels promote. Regardless of whether it's O'Reilly or Olbermann, it's a problem when the reporter becomes the story. That's more of what this is about. Covering the news should not be like a reality TV show. But the cable news channels have taken that route, and Anderson Cooper is no different than Sean Hannity. Personality-oriented news is far more lucritive than straight news, but it opens a lot of ethics doors. That's really what this story is about.

I've read where some have suggested that Jon Stewart would be a great commentator on NPR, but that would open the exact same door, and probably a good reason why it hasn't happened.
 
I am shocked at what I am seeing for conservatives running to the defense of this tool. Juan can't possible be a "good guy". Good guys don't make bigoted statements about entire groups of people. If I were President of NPR I would have bounced his behind too. I would not want him associated with my organization. As a black man, I have been advocating for his ouster from the brotherhood of black men for some time. Unfortunately, we can't disassociate with him as easy as NPR can. My point is, Juan went on the air and said, I am no bigot, but... and then went on to make a bigoted statement. I wonder how many white people saw him not recognizing him as the great Juan Williams and became "nervous" because a black man was in their midst. What Juan said was not just an opinion, it was pure prejudice. Not only should he have been fired by NPR he should have been fired by FAUX News too. But, no they have him a fat raise: 2million over three years. I see being a bigoted but wipe pays really well these days.
 
Nate Wesley said:
MsMusicRadio said:
What about a nun on a plane playing a guitar?
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NPR would have been similarly justified in canning Juan Williams if he had said "Being around Catholic priests makes me restless, they remind me of child rape". Even with the leeway afforded an opinionated commentator, that kind of statement will always be cited as a known cultural or religious prejudice against Catholic officials. And that's exactly what Williams did--express a well-defined prejudice. And saying "I'm not a bigot, but..." didn't make said prejudice any more palatable.

I know the talk radio righties will jump all over this, but they've never been seriously concerned about news credibility before. NPR apparently does care, and I have no problem with their termination of Williams.
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And let the church say...AMEN!
 
Frank Ferreri said:
The end result of all this is Williams comes out the winner. Fox gets great PR and NPR the loser.
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All it shows is that Fox News is an opportunistic outfit predominantly concerned with ratings and entertainment than any actual journalism.

FNC could have offered Juan Williams a similar deal years ago. But once conservative pundits exploded on Williams' comments and subsequent NPR firing, it was only then publicly (or publicity?) convenient for Roger Ailes & Co. to announce his spankin' new contract.

Fox will only score good PR with people who still hold Fox in good regard.
 
I am shocked at what I am seeing for conservatives running to the defense of this tool. Juan can't possible be a "good guy". Good guys don't make bigoted statements about entire groups of people. If I were President of NPR I would have bounced his behind too. I would not want him associated with my organization. As a black man, I have been advocating for his ouster from the brotherhood of black men for some time. Unfortunately, we can't disassociate with him as easy as NPR can. My point is, Juan went on the air and said, I am no bigot, but... and then went on to make a bigoted statement. I wonder how many white people saw him not recognizing him as the great Juan Williams and became "nervous" because a black man was in their midst. What Juan said was not just an opinion, it was pure prejudice. Not only should he have been fired by NPR he should have been fired by FAUX News too. But, no they have him a fat raise: 2million over three years. I see being a bigoted but wipe pays really well these days.

White people generally are not afraid of older gray haired black men, especially ones in three piece business suits. Their discomfort, like Jesse Jackson's, comes when a black man or a group of black men dressed like thugs in ghetto attire are approaching. Those same white folks are just as uncomfortable when a white man or a group of white men dressed like thugs in ghetto attire are approaching. It's not the race or color of skin, but the ghetto/jailhouse clothes are associated with criminal behavior, just as greased back hair with a black leather jacket was back in the 1950's was associated with some tough individuals you tried not to cross.

Interesting you apparently don't have a problem with Jesse Jackson having that attitude, did you vote for him to be kicked out of the Brotherhood? Ah, the double standard. What about Chris Rock, who did a hilarious routine a number of years ago about blacks robbing you at the ATM, breaking into your house to steal your big screen TV, etc.

Would you have considered Juan to be bigoted had he said that he gets uncomfortable when those crazy Tea Party Conservatives get on an airplane? Or would you have call Juan a bigot for saying he gets uncomfortable when being near a bunch of Bible thumping Christians?

I would agree with you if Juan had said, I get uncomfortable when those towel headed camel jockey's are on an airplane I'm flying on. In that example he would have used some inflammatory slang terms, that would have been wrong and good cause for a dismissal, but THAT's NOT what he said.

Just for the record, I'm not a regular listener to Fox, but am a regular listener to NPR, and still believe NPR did the wrong thing.

Also, so it would appear that to be a true black man in your brotherhood, they must see the world as you do, if not, then you'd vote them out of your race. And you accuse Juan Williams of being bigoted? Well sir, someday, you'll have to tell all of us how you created the world in 6 Twenty-four hour days, since you also must be able to walk on water.
 
The part of it that got him in trouble was not the word Muslim, but rather all the other words that came before. It was about presenting his personal feelings. That had nothing to do with impartial analysis.
 
Juan Williams was giving analysis, not reporting as a Journalist. It was opinion. All of those talking heads on any network do just that. Daniel Shorr, who recently passed away gave his views all the time on NPR, Dave Ross does the same on CBS radio everyday, Paul Harvey on ABC radio was a master of the craft during his long career in radio.

No matter how sterile you make a commentary, your bias is going to be there as your view of the world will be reflected in the opinion piece. He said what most people feel, but don't express due to political correctness, sort of like Vice President Joe Biden, when he said that Barack Obama is a clean cut, well educated, articulate black man. Future President Obama didn't take Biden's comments as racist. He knew exactly what Biden was saying, that he was the type of black man white people could and would vote for, whereas Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, or Louis Farakan are not. Apparently Obama was impressed with Biden's honesty and picked him to be his VP.

From what I understand, Juan's contract was up for renewal in November, why didn't they just let him ride out the last couple of weeks and quietly not renew his contract. It almost appears that the NPR brass had been chaffing over Juan's appearances on Fox and used that as a catalyst to punish him for "moonlighting".

With his upcoming contract renewal, NPR could have put a non-compete clause preventing him from working elsewhere other than NPR. Almost anything would have been better than the public turmoil they created right at Begathon time too. The NPR brass didn't think their actions through before taking action.
 
MikefromDelaware said:
Juan Williams was giving analysis, not reporting as a Journalist.
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It wasn't analysis. It was a personal confession. That's not analysis.

Had he simply phrased it differently and said, "Most people are fearful of people in Muslim garb on airplanes." But he personalized it. This would not have passed the editors at NPR. That's why he was fired.
 
When I used to work in St. Pete, I took I-275 home at night. Although I used to be a "hippie" and hang out with all kinds, I'll admit when a huge cavalcade of bikers came up behind me, I'd feel a lot better when they passed by and I know the vast majority are not criminals.
 
Big A, I agree, it would have been better had Juan said it that way, but it's not a reason to fire him. Call him on the carpet, hit him with rubber hoses, strap him in a chair and make him listen to an hour of rap music as punishment, but the offense was no reason to fire him.

Ms.MusicRadio, I agree, most people have uncomfortable moments like the one you described. I live in a multiracial neighborhood, most are decent folks no matter their color, but then there are always those few, no matter their color, who make others feel uncomfortable. I think that's all Juan was really saying, but as a professional Juan probably shouldn't have made it personal, but he also shouldn't have been fired.
 
MsMusicRadio said:
What about a nun on a plane playing a guitar?
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PCRAM wasn't as wide spread in 1980 as it is today,

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
MikefromDelaware said:
Big A, I agree, it would have been better had Juan said it that way, but it's not a reason to fire him.
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It wasn't the first time he'd done something like this, and he'd been warned before.
 
I am a regular listener to NPR and am a fiscal conservative. I never cared for Juan Williams's analysis nor his commentary on FNC. It is my understanding that NPR's contracted contributers, as Mr. Williams, sign an agreement with stipulations regarding journalistic integrity. It is also my understanding that he had previously been warned of his FNC on air-comments.

Note, many agreements allow for a "cure" period when a fault in performance is discovered. Many times, an individual tries to fix the fault verbally and allow time for a cure. This is usually done in error as the party at fault usually commits said fault knowingly and does not agree that it is indeed a fault. Thus, when a fault is discovered, it is always better to abide by the language as stipulated in the agreement to notify he party via certified letter, rather than to correct the situation outside of the stated terms and conditions.
Many NPR listeners had been requesting the ouster of Mr. Willliams for some time. Keep in mind that this is not like listening to Glenn Beck where he may state that he caused a miracle and there is no backlash. Most of us hear that and giggle and continue to tune in to hear what he'll say next. He will never be confused with an Edward R. Murrow, yet he is entertaining.

Sorry for the long post.
 
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