Juan Williams
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-10-26/juan-williams
Juan Williams is a political commentator for Fox News and until last week he was also a news analyst for NPR. He joined NPR in 1999 as the daily host of Talk of The Nation, and in recent years he’s served as an NPR senior national correspondent. His comments on Fox's The O'Reilly Factor last week prompted a seemingly abrupt dismissal from NPR. Juan Williams talks about his career, his roles as news analyst and commentator, and his reaction to the recent controversy over his dismissal from NPR.
Guests
Juan Williams
FOX News political contributor, former NPR news analyst and author of "Enough."
Related Video
Fox News political contributor and former NPR news analyst Juan Williams discusses his feelings about NPP management and the way in which he was fired last week following remarks he made on Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor." Williams described his exchange with NPR senior vice president for news, Ellen Weiss, from whom he received the news of his dismissal: "I asked Ellen Weiss, 'Do you have a conscience?'...she was carrying out orders. This was an execution from her point of view, I guess:"
"I'm a big fan of radio and public radio," Fox News political contributor and former NPR news analyst Juan Williams said in response to Diane's question about whether he meant to attack all of NPR's programming in his recent criticisms of the organization. Williams draws a distinction between local stations' programming decisions and those made at the national level at NPR's headquarters:
Diane's Complete Interview With Juan Williams: Part 1
Diane's Complete Interview With Juan Williams: Part 2
Diane's Complete Interview With Juan Williams: Part 3
Diane's Complete Interview With Juan Williams: Part 4
Comments
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Totally agree!!! If credibility is key then he shouldn't have joined Fox News.
1. "joining FOX News"
Those of you who have been saying that 'if Williams wanted to keep his job at NPR he shouldn't have joined FOX' need to check your facts. (Google is your friend.) Juan was working at FOX when NPR hired him!
2. "NPR management"
If the two news organizations (yes- they are) were at such cross purposes, then why did NPR hire a FOX employee who intended to keep working there? What has changed isn't Juan or FOX. NPR management became more extreme. The sands shifted under Juan's feet. Cokie Roberts, the late Daniel Schorr, and Nina Totenberg all "sinned" against NPR policy worse than Juan. No one tried to fire them because their transgressions were 'liberal friendly'.
3. "pjnuge vs. rickevans033050- balance on NPR & on FOX"
I disagree with pjnuge about FOX being more balanced than NPR. NPR makes more of an effort to be objective. Both are biased, though. I'd put NPR at around 15-20 degrees (out of 90) to the left for their news and 35 degrees for the programming in toto, and FOX at about 35 degrees (out of 90) to the right for their news operation, and 65 degrees for the network as a whole.
FOX does win out over NPR, though, when it comes to representing a diversity of views. Who represents the right on NPR? David Brooks. (He endorsed Obama.) Having Brooks (whom I actually like a great deal) as the only representative from the right is akin to accepting Ben Nelson as the voice of the Democratic party.
4. "NPR listeners"
Why is it that so many NPR listeners get self righteous about the purported awfulness of FOX, but don't bother to condemn MSNBC? Based on personal experience, I'd say it's because so many are Rachel Maddow fans. (Can you say, 'hypocrite'?)