Juan Williams

[Embar Angylwrath]

Never thought Id see this. Juan Williams fired from NPR. I loved when he was the host of Talk of the Nation. Loved his commentary, insight and delivery. I thought NPR firing him for his comments to be over-reacting, but I also think that Juan should have known better, and expected it from NPR. Personally, I found his remarks to be honest and telling. Here's a guy that has written about civil rights, received an Emmy, has done some excellent documentaries and certainly isn't considered a right-wing loon by any stretch of the imagination. I admired him (and still do) for his ability to see both sides of an issue and present them equally.

Although I think Williams should know better, I do think NPR is acting against it's purported interests, that of free and balanced ideas and speech. Williams was in a very human moment, acknolweding his difficulty with his own reactions and bias, but he didn't imply or state that everyone should react the same way he does. I thought it would have been a great opportunity to explore why someone like Williams had a bias in his perceptions, why he felt the way he did. But NPR fired him for reasons that just dont make sense to me. Too bad, they lost a great journalist, and diminished themselves in the process.

[Harlowe]

They aren't so much about "free" ideas being expressed, as they are concerned with showing bias or any degree of bigotry or intolerance (if you recall recently, they told NPR workers they could not be involved in the Daily Show Restore Sanity/ or Fear Rally).

I don't think one comment is worth firing a person for, but as often is the case, no one but those on the inside know the full breadth of the issues, so it's purely speculation. I do know that they stated he's crossed the line more than a few times.

I don't think it was some honest "human" moment either. He was trying to support O'Reilly and his comment on The View.

[Partha]

Yep, their reasons for firing him are fairly easy to spot, and have been ongoing a while. He's not supposed to have been doing these spots while he was under contract to NPR, which is the reason you don't see Cokie Roberts on TV anymore, either. In the end, he got, what, 2 million dollars from FOX to continue being afraid of Muslims on planes?

(Side note: Love to see him end up on a plane full of blue eyed, Caucasian Muslims from Chechnya for the lulz factor when it finally hit him.)