Juan Williams Fired by NPR for Bigoted Remarks

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright October 21, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

            National Public radio terminated the contract of news analyst Juan Williams for remarks he made on FOXNews’ top-rated “The O’Reilly Factor” with host Bill O’Reilly. Williams has worked as a talk show host for NPR since 1999, after a 23-year career as an investigative journalist for the Washington Post.  He’s worked as a FOXNews liberal analyst on  “Special Report with Bret Baer” and “FOXNews Sunday,” giving balance to the otherwise right-leaning FOXNews network.  “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 a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are  in Muslim garb and I think, you know, the are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried.  I get nervous,” said Williams to O’Reilly Monday, Oct. 17, reacting to Bill’s Oct. 14 comments on ABC’s “The View.”

            In a heated discussion with O”Reilly on “The View” Oct. 14, co-host actress-comediennes Whoppie Goldberg and Joy Behar walked off the set when O’Reilly blamed the Sept. 11 attack on Muslims.  Both protested that “extremists,” not Muslims, hijacked and steered jetliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, a fine but important point as to who’s responsible for Sept. 11.  When you add the Ground Zero mosque controversy, where a Saudi-backed Muslim congregation led by Imam Feisal Abdul Raif wants to build a 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center two blocks north of ground zero.  O’Reilly didn’t hold back his opinion while on “The View.”  William’s politically incorrect remarks on the “O’Reilly Factor” lent some support to Bill’s own stereotypes about Muslims.  Williams cautioned O’Reilly against blaming all Muslims rather than “extremists” for Sept. 11.

            NPR’s hasty decision to can Williams had more to do with his frequent appearances on FOXNews, rather than his incendiary remarks.  William’s comments were indeed bigoted, since his track record as a journalist covering the civil rights movement has nothing to do with his current remarks.  Disclosing his fears or discomfort on airplanes about traditionally-garbed Muslims reflect prejudicial attitudes.  Orthodox practitioners of Islam, Christianity, Judaism or other faiths typically wear religious garments.  Williams’ concern about Muslims stems from his attitude about Islamic extremism.  What’s ironic is that none of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 wore traditional Muslim dress.  “Juan’s comments on Fox violate our standards as well as our values and offended many in doing so,” read a statement from NPR CEO Vivian Schiller, justifying the summary dismissal.

            Due to Williams’ 11-year seniority at NPR, Schiller could have suspended him pending a more complete investigation.  Williams remarks were not in themselves that controversial or offensive.  Admitting he gets nervous is a personal statement regarding his reaction to seeing traditionally-garbed Muslims on airplanes.  NPR VP Ellen Weiss notified Williams of his firing Wednesday, Oct. 20, telling him he should keep his feelings about Muslims between him and “his psychiatrist or his publicist.”  Whether or not Williams actually sees a “psychiatrist” is anyone’s guess.  If Weiss disclosed a material fact about Williams’ medical record then NPR is guilty of much more than political incorrectness.  Weiss’ public remark, if true, would violate the 1996 federal law related to medical privacy known as HIPPA.  Throwing the book at Williams seems a bit over the top.

            NPR’s public remarks about Williams’ termination raise some disturbing questions as to the real motives.  If his remarks were really that unforgivable, NPR would have conferred with their lawyers prior to giving him the ax.  “This isn’t the first time we have had serious concerns about some of Juan’s public comments,” wrote Schiller in an officials memo, justifying the firing.  “Despite many conversations and warnings over the years, Juan continued to violate this principal [sic],” opening up a can of worms for NPR.  Whatever the objections to some of Williams’ reporting, NPR actively used his remarks on O’Reilly’s show to justify his termination.  Airing personal feelings isn’t too advisable for qualified journalists.  Williams erred in sharing some of his inner thoughts.  NPR’s public comments and overreaction shows that the network looked for any excuse to get rid of him.

            William’s politically incorrect remarks warranted clarification, retraction or even a mea culpa from the 56-year-old African American journalist.  NPR’s public statements show that they sought any excuse to terminate their well-known black broadcast journalist.  Williams told FOXNews that Weiss said he made a “bigoted” statement.  All journalists and others in the public eye occasionally make mistakes.  While Juan’s comments reflect his own fears, they don’t rise to the crude or offensive level to warrant termination.  Juan’s remarks to O’Reilly Oct. 14 reflect poor taste and bad judgment but don’t warrant summary dismissal.  NPR officials seized on the opportunity to pay back one of their own for his affiliation with rival conservative network FOXNews.  Using his unacceptable public remarks as an excuse for termination exposes NPR to increased liability.  

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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