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NPR commentator fired for Muslim remarks
- Thread starter oldmanradio
- Start date
NPR should immediately be defunded from being given one red cent of American taxpayer money. Let them get their funding from the unAmerican non American who gave them money and then told them what to say and do, who is also a wanted man in more than one European country for destroying their economies and cultures.
For shame!
For shame!
TheBigA said:
Not really, he's a paid guest (contractor) He doesn't work under contract for FOX.
TVradioguru said:
Not really, he's a paid guest (contractor) He doesn't work under contract for FOX.
[/quote]
When he appears, he gets a "Fox News Contributor" credit on screen, which alternates as "NPR Analyst."
I believe he's under contract for a certain number of appearances, and to perform certain functions.
It's a similar deal with NPR, by the way. Or it was when I was there. He was not a full time NPR employee.
BRNout said:
If the goal was to squelch opinions, they obviously failed. Because this story has gotten more coverage than anything NPR has reported in years.
He stated his opinion. No one attempted to squelch or control it. So NPR is not attempting to squelch or control speech. And the entire story is being reported, warts and all, on www.npr.org
This is not political. Saying something about Muslims isn't political. Saying something about Obama is, or Obama's wife, and he wasn't fired for that. In any case, no one is controlling or squelching speech.
TheBigA said:
Merely the law of unintended consequences rearing its ugly head. Once this fades away from the front page and talkers lost interest, the original intent will have succeeded because an example was made.
TheBigA said:
I'd still say that it is political in that it has to do with the ideology of those who run NPR and the 'culture wars' - but we would be arguing semantics. That people like this try to squelch opinion through fear (in this case fear of the loss of livelihood) makes it political in my mind.
Also, the way you've framed this as if Williams was "Saying something about Muslims..." takes what happened totally out of context. His comment was about how he feels when joined on an airplane by someone in Muslim garb. More of a comment on his feelings and feelings that many of us share.
There was absolutely nothing hateful about it. In this case, the Council on American Islamic Relations tried and succeeded in having NPR oust this guy. They are the ones who are really into squelching speech and, in this case, NPR went along with them quite happily.
And it is very dangerous.
BRNout said:
I worked there. You don't know "those who run NPR." I do. You're approaching this with prejudice and bias. There is no "fear" there.
The issue here is simple: Journalists should not become part of the story. How he feels isn't journalism. That's a personal opinion for private conversation, not professional analysis to be aired on national TV. There's a difference between personal feelings and professional analysis. He should know the difference.
TheBigA said:
Count the number of times political commentators say: " I think that..." and tell me that's NOT personal feelings? What about the OP/ED page of any newspaper? What about blogs run by CNN/NPR/MSNBC/FOX? You really think personal opinions aren't to be shared publically?
BRNout said:
I think your statement about "squelch[ing] opinion through fear" just summed up the Broadcast Content Policies & Procedures Manual for FOX NEWS.
M
mediawonk
Guest
To add to the point TheBigA is making, it should be noted that Williams was not working for NPR as a commentator. He was a news analyst. Thus, he was not under contract to publicize his personal stance; rather, he was there to dissect current events. By introducing his own views/prejudices into the discussion, while still indirectly representing NPR, he violated the terms of his contract. That alone is not really a fireable offense, but he had rubbed NPR management the wrong way on prior occasions, so they probably looked at the sum total of his history with the organization in making the decision.
Wow, a lot of embarrassing posts in this thread. NPR prides itself on having broadcasters that deliver the news without a bias. This way you get fair reporting without the Bill O'Reilly type characters that deliver their own spin. He essentially broke that and NPR let him go.
Don't worry about it, I've already donated a significant amount of money to them for firing him. How much is none of your business.
Don't worry about it, I've already donated a significant amount of money to them for firing him. How much is none of your business.
I am amazed at how many people, including a couple of posters, cannot distinguish between news reporter and commentary. I realize that line in the sand is getting blurry. Maybe they know the difference but choose to blur facts with agenda and commentary.
I don't think ANY news source is above bias. Everybody I've heard from Fox to NPR, etc., etc. has a slant. Like I was told about programming when I was a music director for the first time: It's not what you play as much as what you don't play. Same goes for today's newsrooms. It's not so much what is being reported but what is not being reported.
I don't think ANY news source is above bias. Everybody I've heard from Fox to NPR, etc., etc. has a slant. Like I was told about programming when I was a music director for the first time: It's not what you play as much as what you don't play. Same goes for today's newsrooms. It's not so much what is being reported but what is not being reported.
Williams clearly violated the Society of Professional Journalists ethics code (which NPR requires its on-air people to follow). “Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status.”
In Williams’ case his remarks … “I mean, look, Bill (O’Reilly) 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.” suggest he not only stereotyped based on religion but on physical appearance.
In Williams’ case his remarks … “I mean, look, Bill (O’Reilly) 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.” suggest he not only stereotyped based on religion but on physical appearance.
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