NPR firing Juan Williams

I can't believe that got him fired although I can see NPR wanting to separate themselves from him if he's going to be on FOX. So if they were looking for a way to do that, even the flimsiest of statements could be used to support their contract rules etc.It's lame. It's not a racist statement at all, imo, especially now knowing there was more to the whole statement.

I thought his comment about Muslims was so ignorant. The terrorist who flew the planes on 9/11 didn't wear any traditional Middle Eastern clothing. Gee, they dressed like Americans, even Christians. Just because someone dresses in traditional Middle Eastern clothing does not make them automatically Muslim. ( except for a woman in a hijab)There are lots of other groups in the Middle East.

I didn't realize he was moonlighting at Fox. That's what got him fired. But that wasn't a racist statement. It's how he felt.

I might have a problem with it if he said it during a newscast when he was supposed to be reporting factual news. But this was on a commentary show where he is supposed to express his opinion (whether or not all listeners agree), and he concurrently openly acknowledged that he fear was not entirely rational but it is how he feels. I may not agree with his view necessarily but I did not think his statement was so overboard that it constituted a termination event. There may well be a larger agenda (needed an excuse to get rid of this Fox news guy) but I dont think it was handled well.

Then ya, I don't get the firing.....other pp have mentioned moonlighting on FOX...don't know if that's a contractual thing or just something that NPR wants to stay away from. As for his feelings....they are his feelings. If I see a person (female) traveling with a male and she is wearing a head covering, I think nothing of it....I did have some anxiety on a plane where a man and woman completely covered except for her eyes came on board....sorry but I did have an anxious feeling.....however, I have the SAME anxious feeling when I see groups of white men with muscle shirts and swastika tattoos...so it's not limited...although I try not to think about it because most people that do harm try to blend in, not stand out. ..whatever harm that may be.

I never listen to NPR but we watch Fox a lot. It's ridiculous that they fired him for saying something many Americans feel. I guess they're not as open to ideas & opinions as they say they are. I'm sure I'll get slammed for this but my biggest problem with liberals in general is they talk about how open minded they are but when you disagree with them they're not open to it at all. But that's all I'm going to say about that. I like Juan Williams too, he's been on Fox a lot last week on all the shows talking about what happened & it looks like Fox is going to give him a bigger role. I wonder if he'll get his own show. Maybe some of the NPR fans will even come over to Fox & watch him?

I don't think that he should have been fired for what he said. The marriage between Faux News and NPR via Juan Williams was a bad one from the beginning, and should have been ended a long time ago. They tried to make him an "analyst" to lessen his presence on NPR, but few people realized that his role on the radio station was so minimal. I knew that he was on Fox because I would hear him on the Fox News Sunday panel when they replayed it Sunday afternoons on c-span radio. Then my dad would inevitably call me to complain about Juan and how much he disliked him. I have to say, I think that it's a bit disingenuous how some are trying to say that NPR is not left-leaning. I'm an avid NPR listener, and I wouldn't be listening to it at all (as I never watch Fox News or listen to Rush) if it were leaning to the right. Let's call a spade a spade. But I don't think that he was fired because he was not "left enough", as I've heard some say. There's also a double standard here - Nina Totenberg says inflammatory things on other channels, apparently, but she is still a regular on NPR.

Why? Shouldn't ALL views be welcome on ALL venues? And, if you want to persuade people who don't think the same as you do, shouldn't you go to them without waiting for them to come to you???? Jonah refusal to go to Ninevah comes to mind (yep - I'm a Christian). But from a secular POV you could also say "keep your friends close and your enemies closer". Personally I watch/listen/read FOX/CNN as much as possible..... back the OP.....There was an OpEd in our paper (a syndicated writer who appears regularly) in the "From the Left" column ....I'll see if I can find it - or at least it's author's name....... that compared what Juan Williams said with something that the Rev. Jesse Jackson said not too long ago and wondered why Rev. Jackson was given a pass and Williams was given a pink slip. CNN and FOX as near as I can tell have the right to fire (or hire) anyone as they see fit. Do I agree with WHY they fired him, no. But did they have the right to - well, guessing that contractually, yes, they did.

I have to say that I did not hear what he said afterwards, but I find his statement to be an irresponsible thing for a role model to say on national television. Muslims have been the targets of such irrational hate and fear in this country, and I see the trend escalating. Someone who has fought for civil rights, should advocate civil rights, not feed into the fear. Should he have been fired? I don't know. But I think his comment was irresponsible.

Yes, isn't this what "fair & balanced" means?

I agree with Quesita. The comment was irresponsible from someone that worked so hard for civil rights, BUT getting fired for the comment, I don't agree with. If NPR was looking for a reason to get him out the door, then it was a cheap shot. After all, he was giving his opinion, a rather ignorant one at that, but it was on a show calling FOR HIS OPINIONS. If NPR wanted him gone, they should have found a better reason, or, here's an idea: ask him to leave. There are so many ways this could have been handled differently.

Irresponsible comment. [url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09030/945699-153.stm]The double life of Juan Williams[/url]

She does? Do you know of examples? I agree with you that NPR leans to the left. But I also understood, somewhat, the argument I heard from them regarding his comments on Fox. In order to be an effective new analyst, you have to be perceived as an objective, impartial voice. People don't compartmentalize. They aren't going to say, "Well, this is just Juan Williams on Fox. He's different from the Juan Williams on NPR." If you hear him deride Michelle Obama on Fox on Tuesday, can you think of him as objective when he discusses news reports about the first family on NPR on Wednesday? Would people offended by his remarks about Muslims on Fox (and I agree that it was an irresponsible comment at best) see him as a credible person to analyze current events involving the Muslim community? To be perfectly honest, if I were Muslim, I don't think I would. I agree with those who've said that the bigger problem was his relationship with Fox. The fact that they asked Fox awhile ago to stop identifying him as an NPR news analyst is telling. BUT, now, if NINA is shooting her mouth off too and is still around, that leaves a hole in their justification, doesn't it? And the psychiatrist comment was a cheap shot. Interesting article, Nick.

Oak, there's a longstanding newscaster here in Boston who is very well respected....I usually watch the news with him. One day I was flipping thru the radio and realized he had his own talk show....OMG, he is ultra conservative and nutty!!! But honestly I've never "seen" that interfere with his news reporter job so I don't know if Williams' expressing his opinions would interfere at NPR either. In any event, of course these people are human. I mean Katie Couric's interview of Palin....loved it! but i saw an "agenda" there. Even formulating which questions to ask an interviewee must involve some of your own thoughts/beliefs, etc.

The simple fact is that when you are a respected member of the media, you need to watch what you say. I found his comment to be very insensitive. Don't forget, he was talking to Bill O'Reiley who said just a few days before on The View that Muslims killed us on 9/11. Those type of statements hurt people. Muslims didn't kill us on 9/11, radicals did. As many have said, Christians have been responsible for many acts of terror and yet we don't go around fearing them. This Muslim bashing has got to stop. There are plenty of Muslims that DIED that day in those towers on 9/11. I think a whole lot of people forget that.