What do you think of NPR's firing of host Juan Williams for stating his opinion which is a fear of Muslims being on the same plane with him?

It was a totally inappropriate comment for a professional journalist to say, and he deserved to be at least reprimanded. NPR very carefully tries to keep itself above controversy. They also told their members to stay away from the Colbert/Stewart rally.

NPR can fire him for any reason they want. Free speech doesn’t come into play when addressing professional ethics.

The right to free speech only applies to restricting the government’s actions (although one might say that since NPR gets federal funds, it’s borderline).

I think it is the “Thought Police” run amok.
If you work for NPR,you must think as NPR (the so-called tolerant). Juan is one of their own,a Liberal,yet he voiced a personal concern that did not fit the NPR dogma,so therefore,he must be sacrificed upon the alter of political expediency.I am sure it has nothing to do with him being a contributor to Fox News as well….;)

I completely agree with @Rarebear‘s comment. For me, a public reprimand would have been sufficient, with the warning that next time would get him fired. Williams is a fine journalist, in my opinion—the number of them is dwindling—and I hate to see this gaffe, though serious, get him fired. I also think that while he certainly shouldn’t have said what he did, he’s not in a minority feeling that way.

NPR holds itself and its employees to a higher standard of professionalism and objectivity than most media outlets. They do not want to be associated with Juan’s lack of professionalism in his statements. Fox and a lot of Republicans are flocking to Juan’s defense, and accusing NPR of being a left-wing news organization. That accusation is just more proof of how far-right Fox is.

I heard they fired him for expressing an opinion – not because of the specific opinion. The commentators are supposed to be just that – commentators. Totally unbiased, supposedly.

If he was working for FOX he could have said anything he wanted, but he was not. He was in the prestigious position of NPR commentator and must follow the rules. As must they. .

Here’s my opinion… I like both NPR and Juan Williams. He will get a job in a second and NPR will keep their high standards.

@worriedguy, don’t worry, he was already a paid political contributor for Fox News since ‘97… and now they’ve offered him an even more lucrative $2M contract.

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Besides, Williams has offered plenty of opinion during his NPR employ that one might question was acceptable because it lined up with the political views of the decision makers there. This particular one is what seemed to land him in hot water.

I have always been thankful of Juan Williams when I watch Fox News Sunday. His opinions have brought some balance to such a far right propaganda machine. (although Chris Wallace does better than most)

His removal from NPR is astonishing! To reprimand anyone for such an innocuous remark is beyond me. If he was allowed to finnish we would probably not be giving him the Shirley Shirrod treatment.

NPR also sent notice to all its employees that they are not to attend the Rally to Restore Sanity in D.C. on October 30, and NPR won’t be covering the event. Read what Bill Moyers has to say about what’s happened to National Public Radio. It’s national alright, but not public anymore. Like everything, it seems these days, it’s corporate owned and that’s blatantly reflected in its decisions. It’s ironic that you can lose your career for stating the obvious, yet go on doing business as usual (Wall Street, etc.) if your actions are criminally liable.

Mr. Williams IMO sums it up best himself….

”“Now that I no longer work for NPR let me give you my opinion. This is an outrageous violation of journalistic standards and ethics by management that has no use for a diversity of opinion, ideas or a diversity of staff (I was the only black male on the air). This is evidence of one-party rule and one-sided thinking at NPR that leads to enforced ideology, speech and writing. It leads to people, especially journalists, being sent to the gulag for raising the wrong questions and displaying independence of thought.”

@Cruiser-He is referring to the Thought Police,the so-called tolerant ;)

When I was in College radio, yes way back, we were told as a reporter or agent for the station. “You have no opinion”

@lucillelucillelucille You got that right! BTW I posted that because of your answer! ;)

Neither Juan nor Rich should have been fired. Sure, maybe a reprimand, but not fire them. Even Jon Stewart said Rich should have not been fired. The networks are catching a lot of flax because of the firings.

NPR has standards of objectivity that Williams has apparently violated in the past, and this obviously crossed the line.

And before people start whining about free speech: you know how Williams has the right to say what he wants? NPR also has the right to fire him for saying things they think are stupid, and/or in breach of his contract. Free speech doesn’t just protect the things you agree with.

Also, Fox is the exact opposite of journalistic standards. Fox is Republican campaign PR wrapped in a veneer of “newsiness.” It is laughable to hear someone who is employed by Fox News talk about journalistic standards.

NPR has standards of objectivity that Williams has apparently violated in the past, and this obviously crossed the line

I’ve never heard that of Juan crossing the line before. Seems like a good guy.

Back to Rich, he is not good at what he does…too much commentary on his part. I’ve seen him goof many times.

Whether or not he should be entitled to say what he thought, I just thought it was a stupid comment, even if 90% of Americans agree and identify with it. Can’t he have been fired for saying stupid things on the air? (We’ve been discussing this in another thread.)

I enjoy NPR but I find it appalling that they very clearly don’t want any right-leaning staff on board. Why is “Public Radio” synonymous with “Far Left Radio?” Why is a story about a gay Christmas elf their most often repeated audio segment, while conservative viewpoints are never to be heard? Enquiring minds want to know.

I think, why is this any more noteworthy than the guy down the street from me losing his job? If anything, it’s of lesser consequence, since Williams has another job. My neighbor has to worry about feeding his kids. Why isn’t anyone up in arms about that? Why aren’t the news wires running with that story? I didn’t see a TV truck outside of his house.

The MSM in this country are morally bankrupt.

I think it was a silly reason to fire someone, but they can do whatever they want.

Muslims are not to offended, period, they might fuck you up. Isn’t that why an episode from South Park was altered so as not to ruffle any feathers? And the problems that cartoonist found himself in when he caricatured the prophet Mohamed with a bomb on his head?

@woodcutter Loll.. oh me…you are hoot!

I think it shows the true hypocrisy and attempted brainwashing done by the press. I say brainwashing because let’s face it, if you turn on any news stations since 9/11, you will hear the word terrorist or terrorism several times and they are always being used to describe Muslim “extremists.” It has been the job of the media since 9/11to keep us in fear.
I think Juan Williams merely pointed that out and I don’t think the media wants it to be so obvious.
I am of the belief that terrorism is being used to erode the freedoms of the masses, including the american people. If the media really cared about not pointing a finger and labeling certain ethnicities as “terrorists,” how come the only “terrorists” are Muslim according to out media? How come Joe Stack, the guy that flew the plane into the IRS building wasn’t labeled a terrorist?

Does anyone know if he was fired for this solely, or was this “the last straw” of a string of previous issues?

<tangent> I just came across this blog: http://muslimswearingthings.tumblr.com/ </tangent>

It’s ironic that in today’s liberal “men should act more like women” society where men are encouraged to speak honestly about their feelings and cry when they feel sad or fearful, that when a man speaks honestly about his fears, he is fired. How much do you want to bet that when NPR congressional correspondent Andrea Seabrook leaves a late night congressional session she’s covering, that she fears random black men walking on the streets of Washington DC at 2am? If you want to say that makes her a racist and she should be fired, don’t you think that’s a little shallow? Aren’t we supposed to applaud the honesty of people who speak openly about their fears?

Heres a very interesting article that michael moore wrote about the subject.
http://huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/juan-williams-is-right-po_b_772766.html

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I like that letter.

@chris6137 it’s the End Times! Not that I agree with every word of what Michael Moore said in his letter—that would be a totally parallel universe (scratch that, not even “parallel”, that would be “opposite world”)—but that I find myself agreeing with anything that Michael Moore says makes me think I need a drink and a nap.

His Update at the end of the letter was pretty much what I’ve been saying right along.

I think Michael Moore’s note is pretty spot on. Moore shouldn’t have been fired for speaking the truth that many feel. He should have been fired for being a regular guest on Fox News while functionoing as a news analysts for NPR, however.

But what would happen to a white commentator who said on national television that he gets nervous in a group of black guys? That’s actually at least as rational a fear. Blacks make up 12.4% of the US population but over 60 percent of the prison population. In several predominantly black areas of Boston, we average 1 murder a day. It is incredibly politically incorrect to say this. I may get moderated for having done so, but it is true. Mr. Williams might give pause to think about how the shoe would feel if it were politically acceptable to speak that truth.