NPR's strange reasons for firing Juan Williams
Image via WikipediaThe hypersensitive sector of the media landscape has claimed another victim. Juan Williams, a 10-year veteran of National Public Radio, was terminated from his role as news analyst on Wednesday night for a remark he made about Muslims during an appearance on Fox News.As I understand their claim they are saying Williams undermined the credibility of NPR. I suspect the firing will do more to undermine the credibility of the organization. Watching the NPR person attempting to explain what they had done suggested to me an unprofessional attitude by the management. There seems to be an underlying personal animus on the part of some of the NPR management toward Fox News and the appearance of some of their talent on its programming.
In a segment with Fox News talk show host Bill O'Reilly, Mr. Williams admitted to feeling "nervous" in the wake of the September 11 attacks when he sees Muslims board a plane on which he is traveling.
"Look, Bill, 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," Mr. Williams said.
He went on to argue to Mr. O'Reilly that such individual fears, however real, did not justify a more general prejudice or discrimination against Muslims as a group.
Though his opinion was voiced for another news organization, NPR struck back at the veteran newsman, a long time columnist for The Washington Post and author of several books.
"His remarks on 'The O'Reilly Factor' this past Monday were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR," the broadcaster said in statement, though their own news coverage of the incident acknowledged the fact that Mr. Williams presence on Fox News had long been a "sore point" with NPR executives.
...
I think NPR has made a huge mistake that will reverberate for months and possibly cost them some of their funding.
The Washington Post suggest NPR reacted with misplaced political correctness.
Some Muslims are speaking out about NPR's action.
Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, took issue with those who wrap themselves in feel-good sensitivity, while denying the fact that the majority of terrorists are Muslim.It seems to be an obvious point to everyone but the oblivious.
Indeed, the threat is real enough even for Fatah, a liberal Muslim, who looks at women in burkas with skepticism. “I am scared when I see women in burkas, how do I know what is behind that?” Fatah said, noting that many Muslims share his concerns.
“We are victims of these guys. A number of suicide bombers who have attacked have killed people [while] wearing the burka,” Fatah said. “This is the truth, we should be speaking the truth rather than what people expect us to say. ”
Comments
Post a Comment