News Roundup - Hour 1
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-10-22/news-roundup-hour-1
President Obama campaigns in western states to rally Democrats. A federal appeals court keeps the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy intact for now. And Toyota issues another massive recall. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.
Guests
John Dickerson
chief political correspondent for Slate.com and CBS political analyst and contributor. Author of "On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star."
Susan Page
Washington bureau chief for USA Today.
Naftali Bendavid
national correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; author of "The Thumpin': How Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats Learned to be Ruthless and Ended the Republican Revolution."
News Roundup Video
The panelists address NPR's firing of Juan Williams following his comments about Muslims earlier this week on Fox News:
Comments
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@O'Dowd
Your question:
"Diane, are you and other NPR personalities, who claim Williams as a personal friend, going to do more than talk? Can you pressure NPR to rehire him? Will you?"
is revealing of Diane's character, or lack thereof. She never criticized NPR for firing Juan, her pal, during the show and gave zero indication that she would even speak up in his behalf.
If nothing else, Juan knows who his true friends are/were at NPR.
@CraiginJersey
Not only didn't the caller acknowledge the left political ideology of the Stewart and Colbert rally, but neither Diane nor her panel felt compelled to disabuse the caller that the rally is of course partisan.
Susan Page sheepishly admitted that she has appeared on FOX News...in the past.....I guess Susan dare not mention any future appearances on that network for fear of getting on the wrong side of Vivian Schiller and Ellen Weiss.
The Edgewood, Maryland caller applauds NPR firing Juan because he took "blood money" from FOX News. Huh? Again, neither Diane or any of the panelists, including Susan Page who appears/appeared on FOX News, bothered to call out the caller's imbecilic remarks.
I think there are so many people overreacting. From NPR’s firing of Williams, to politicians threatening to cut support of Public Broadcasting; from the people that are happy he was fired to the people who are angry he got fired. I think I have lost faith that we as Americans can first give our opinion, but then if something was done incorrectly to have a civilized discussion on why it was a bad decision in the first place. Rather than cutting funding, write letters, call NPR, but just because of this poorly handled decision doesn’t mean that NPR’s entire programming list is bad or biased. This is why they have the audience comment in so that we can keep them accountable for what they do, if something was done wrong or in bad taste; then we can call them on it. If they don’t correct the problem then cut your funding. So rather than throwing away programming that is not all bad or biased but rather could we have a rational discussion on about why or why not is was a bad decision rather than calling each other names or belittling each other or acting so emotional about it. It’s sad that people are willing to throw away programs that had no determination about the firing of Williams, for what? Is the goal to bring him back? Is the goal to end public broadcasting? If you listen or donate to the station you did so for a reason, because it did something for you. As people that support the station you have the power to hold the leadership accountable for their actions, but to take it out on shows that do reporting well seems rather hasty and rash just like the leadership that fired Williams. If you are better than them, demand it from the leadership that they do something rather than threatening to run away and explain what you want them to do to remedy the situation. This is the only way the station will get better rather than making the same mistake.
http://au5t1n-s.blogspot.com/
@Austin Scheidemantel:
"This is why they have the audience comment in so that we can keep them accountable for what they do, if something was done wrong or in bad taste; then we can call them on it. If they don’t correct the problem then cut your funding. "
What evidence do you have that NPR hosts even read this comment section much less take to heart any criticisms? FOX News is not to blame for the fact that NPR is devoted to championing the liberal POV. Blame Dan Schorr, Terry Gross, Bob Edwards, Diane Rehm, Nina Totenberg, Vivian Schiller and Ellen Weiss for how a tax payer funded radio network (even if only 2% comes from a federally funded organization) touts a liberal agenda.
Since NPR refuses to have even one show hosted by a conservative, it is painfully apparent that NPR is only interested in broadcasting liberal bias. Which is fine. But for NPR to keep posturing as if they are the bastion of unbiased programming and strive for balance is just ludicrous. At least FOX News admits that their pundit and commentators tilt to the right. And they have on-air liberal contributors every day. Why does NPR kowtow to CAIR who wanted them to fire Juan? NPR won't even tolerate a liberal who doesn't tow the party line and stick to NPR's nebulous politically correct speech.
@Sarah_L (twice!), @b23erlin, @Laurel Taylor, @rlpeduzzi, @carlw, @dde (twice!), @tarascon, @ frenchydavidson, @Austin Scheidemantel:
Excellent comments, all!
The only thing i would add is that those who claim NPR is "liberal" need to consider the 2003 results of a listening survey by the media criticism organization, FAIR
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1180
"Juan Williams is ANYTHING but Conservative!" ecgberht
Re the "conservative" posture at this moment, IMO when conservatives mimic one another they conceive that they obtain more "being" like the schock at the top (who has a ton in their opinion). They believe they're under an urgent imperative to present a lens re too-generous entitlement blackholes; but what really defines them IMO is sameness in their delivery of this myth-warning...iow MIMESIS. Also, of course, they can't get close to Kuttner or Hudson's truth, or Chalmers Johnson's truth, cause...we can't handle the truth! The latter was true of Williams.
What makes a conservative in this milieu? Not to be concerned re the real threat but to DESIRE THE EMOTIONS OF THE HERD. in other words, don't worry about a suitcase nuke comin in via any one of our many freebooter portals...worry about what they say I should worry about.
"Juan Williams said, what many people started to think after 9/11 ... and still do. Sorry, that's just truth, bro." ecgberht
Yeah, but did HE think it, or just make up the words?
This "worry" re clothes is so unfounded in terms of probability I am indeed tempted to think Williams was just making small talk. The "worry" is all out of proportion. An analyst should be more astute.
"...the reality is that if you’re getting on an airplane and see someone dressed like a Bedouin, that is the last person in the world you should worry about being a terrorist. Terrorists don’t exactly have a compelling interest in setting off red flags, getting extra security screening or being the focus of air-marshals’ attention." http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/10/22/juan-williams-must-be-sho...
I couldn't have done it, but the network and the nation would have paid.
@pfletch
Come on. Jeff Cohen's Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has zero credibility (and neither does Accuracy in Media-AIM). FAIR believes all media aside from Mother Jones and MSNBC is dominated by the right. Cohen believes anyone to the right of Howard Zinn is conservative.
Since you actually believe NPR does not only employ hosts who are ideologically liberal, perhaps you would care to share with us what NPR show is hosted by a conservative? Just name one show. Are you actually saying that Dan Schorr, Terry Gross, Bob Edwards, Diane Rehm, Nina Totenberg are not liberals? How about CEO of NPR. Vivian Schiller, and NPR's Senior Vice President for News, Ellen Weiss? If you had to hazard a guess, what do you suppose is their political ideology?
I was saddened to hear you ponder that hardly anybody came to the defense of Helen Thomas, clearly wondering what was the difference between the two off-the-cuff comments. I was taken aback by this, especially coming from you, ordinarily a thoughtful and insightful person. Do you really not understand that Williams' unwise remark was fundamentally different in nature from Thomas comment steeped in vitriol and nastiness? Do you not get the reference to the Holocaust, that to tell Jews to go back to Poland where they were clearly never wanted, where they were mass-murdered, where, after having spent years in concentration camps and miraculously surviving, they returned to their Polish "home towns," they were viciously slaughtered by the people who had taken over their houses and possessions (and probably the very same people who had turned them in in the first place) - to tell Jews to go back there is beyond the pale for any thinking/feeling person, and yet, in your mind you think it is somehow in the same league with Williams' admission of queasiness when seeing Muslims in their head-to-toe garb? Not even close, Diane, not even close.
If you think I am overreacting, here is a snippet of a column by Clive Crook, senior editor of The Atlantic, and presumably a non-Jew:
"Jesse Jackson once said, 'There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved....' "
Crook goes on to say, "I don't think that made Jackson a bigot, either. If we want the charge to retain its sting, as we should, we ought to use it cautiously. It needs to mean something worse than ordinary human weakness. Show me some malice. (The remarks that led to Helen Thomas' forced retirement would qualify.) If what Williams said was bigoted, then this is a nation of bigots, and the term no longer means anything."
In addition, I resent one of your panelists comment that everyone has gone into "his corner" to either jubilate or condemn according to their political affiliation. Hogwash! Whoever made that remark ought to give thinking people out here more credit. Not everybody fits into a neat little box that NPR has assigned them - that's how this very badly handled incidence blew blew out of proportion in the first place. People are more than political party members - I thought only under totalitarianism are citizens not allowed to show feelings and emotions. I am a liberal, but I don't think Williams should have been fired. At the same time I think that Williams' comment was casual and off-guard, and more appropriate to be muttered in his buddy's living room or in a pub after work with a beer in his hand, definitely not on national television. However, the comment was quoted out of context; he said other things in the same segment that easily vindicated him. Furthermore, he deserved to be talked to face-to-face about this, not be summarily dismissed like some misbehaving houseboy, and be accused of mental problems in the process. I noticed that the ill-tempered Ms. Schiller (who IS this person??) did not have the guts to appear on a program aired Friday afternoon in which several NPR staffers gave their opinions on this subject. So I guess cowardice and/or high-handedness are part and parcel of Ms. Schiller's modus operandi.
re: hellofromAMwasteland
Sorry, you're going to have to translate that gibberish into English.
||Kuttner, Chalmers et. al.||
Ah the hallowed halls of academia. The elevation of theory to reality is their favorite pass-time. Come back with somebody who has actually had a real job in a position of decision making and power where it really matters, where the chips are on the table, and I will listen.
||DESIRE THE EMOTIONS OF THE HERD||
Coming from the side of the Kings of Anecdote used to play on emotions, that's pretty funny.
Trans: Less conformity to the shock jock's brain contents = less existence
Real job, bah. A real job I believe imparts a sense of risk/probability; and, as strange as it may seem, I'm convinced Joshua Holland in that Alternet article above has a better sense of same than Juan Williams (unless, that is, Williams was just making small talk and doesn't really "worry" under said conditions).
Anyway, like it not, in the long run (when the petroleum gets even scarcer), unless we've stood down the shock doctrine in the interim, at the end the large pile IMO will sit in front of ol'man blowback. There's a "worry."
||Less conformity to the shock jock's brain contents = less existence||
Trans: "People on the left are smarter than everybody else, that's why we only listen to people in academia" ... who ponder their navels while others keep the world actually turning.
||at the end the large pile IMO will sit in front of ol'man blowback||
Or maybe we'll just take the oil we need - how's that for "shock" - and ol'man blowback can ponder that for a while as he walks away from the table.
I listened to the Friday comments regarding Juan Williams. Diane and her guests seemed to tiptoe around the issue not wanting to ruffle feathers. A more appropriate response would be for any NPR show to have Juan along with others discuss and/or disagree and bring more depth to the whole issue. What Juan Williams said is something that I think most of us have initially thought at some pt. I worked for an org with rural offices in the west. People there are overwhelming white. In one case a young Jewish woman from New York was to speak in a public meeting in rural Utah. Despite being a seasoned speaker, she openly expressed her nervousness with a Mormon audience. She was afraid they would disrespect her comments because of who she is. She had a very stereotypical view of this group. However, she thought through her concerns, the evening went well, she was warmly received. In another case a colleague went to a rural office in Oregon to work temporarily. Almost jokingly, he said he was concerned about being the only “brother” in town. In fact he was the only black man in this town. He had a stereotypical perception of rural white Americans. In realty his concern became a non issue. In both examples these people initially held stereotypical perceptions. I’m sure they are not alone. The important point is not the initial perceptions any of us may have, but what we do internally with these perceptions. I believe most people are able to quickly self check, challenge and think through their initial perceptions and fears. Most people are able to recognize their initial stereotyping for what it is, put it aside and move beyond that initial perception. Juan Williams' comments were an opportunity to explore an issue, not shut it down and sweep it under a rug. NPR has shown very poor judgment and has betrayed a trust. I have trusted NPR's reputation as an honest broker in the media. I’m disappointed that in this case NPR has not lived up to this reputation.
Since NPR is emphatic that Juan was not fired because he appears on FOX News, but because NPR's code of conduct prohibits news analyst to give their own personal opinions on any subject when appearing in other media outlets, NPR news analyst Cokie Roberts and legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg will be getting their pink slips any day now.
"Actually, Beck is worse than a clown. He’s more like a terrorist who believes he has discovered the One True Faith, and condemns everyone else as a heretic. And that makes him something else as well — a traitor to the American values he professes so loudly to defend."
Cokie Roberts March 2010
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...994/-1/OPINION
Nina Totenberg pearls of wisdom as spoken as a panelist on "Inside Washington."
“Well, you know, really, this is the next scandal. It’s the scandal in the making. They don’t have to disclose anything. And eventually, this is the kind of thing that led to Watergate.”
"When a party actually has a huge majority, it has a huge diversity. And that is part of the problem that Democrats have. But would I like it to be otherwise? Of course.”
"Let me just say – let me just say something in defense on Jon Stewart here. I’m a devotee of the program because it’s fun…And I must say he’s been pretty savage about Obama and pretty savage about Democrats who smear people, too. So I kind of like the idea of the Rally for Sanity.”