MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY Beneath Juan Williams' Reality

[BrklynLiberal]

http://pr.thinkprogress.org/

MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY
Beneath Juan Williams' Reality

Last week, Fox News kingpin Bill O'Reilly set off a firestorm on ABC's The View when he declared that " Muslims killed us on 9/11 " After apologizing on set, O'Reilly retreated to his safe zone at Fox News where he and his colleagues quickly defended O'Reilly's bigotry. On Monday, O'Reilly invited National Public Radio analyst and frequent Fox News contributor Juan Williams to counter his claim that "there is a Muslim problem in the world." Surprisingly, Williams told O'Reilly he was "right." Citing the "paralysis" of "political correctness," Williams admitted that when he "sees people who are in Muslim garb" on an airplane, "I get worried. I get nervous." Two days later, NPR fired him. Williams' statements and subsequent termination sparked wide-ranging reactions in the media over whether NPR's response was proportional or appropriate. Regardless of whether NPR should have fired Williams, it was certainly the outlet's right to do so. And given the firing of other media figures for controversial statements, NPR's decision advances the idea that there shouldn't be a double standard surrounding the treatment of Muslims by the media. As Salon's Glenn Greenwald Tweeted yesterday, "watch how many people who cheered when (previous media figures) were fired scream CENSORSHIP!! all day over Juan Williams." Within right-wing circles, that number was large. Upon word of Williams' dismissal, a myriad of conservative pundits and lawmakers immediately lambasted NPR, calling for boycotts and the governmental defunding of NPR. While Fox News made sure Williams walked away with a $2 million contract, O'Reilly is determined to suspend public funding for the outlet, declaring, "it's over for NPR. " Appearing on the O'Reilly Factor yesterday, Williams stood by his original comments. Williams' original comments could have opened a constructive dialogue about entrenched Islamophobia, if handled in a more professional manner. However, as the American Prospect's Adam Serwer notes, "it's clear from the context that Williams wasn't merely confessing his own personal fears, he was reassuring O'Reilly that he was right to see all Muslims as potential terrorists." And, in standing by such statements without any clarification, Williams fails to address what the Washington Post's Greg Sargent notes as the central issue: Williams' original "instinctual feeling" is "irrational and ungrounded, and something folks need to battle against internally whenever it rears its ugly head."

THE DOUBLE STANDARD: ThinkProgress first reported Williams' comments to highlight the bigoted nature of his remarks. ThinkProgress never called for any specific action to be taken, and NPR's firing of Williams came as a surprise. Many media figures, including NPR's own ombudsman, questioned NPR's decision to fire Williams before providing him with a chance to clarify his statements. As Serwer notes, "firing people for things like this tends to chill the public discourse. Misconceptions should be discussed publicly rather than driven underground." While arguably premature, the network is within its rights to terminate an employee whose public statements undermine its reputation as a credible news source. According to the announcement, NPR decided to terminate Williams' contract because his remarks "were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR." As stated in NPR CEO Vivian Schiller's email to member stations, his comments violated NPR's long-standing ethics code in which all journalists and contracted analysts like Williams cannot "express views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist" nor "participate in shows...that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis." Nor was this the first time NPR admonished Williams on this issue. Last year, after Williams compared Michelle Obama to "Stokely Carmichael in a designer dress," NPR requested he no longer be identified as affiliated with NPR when appearing on Fox. The radio network's decision does advance the idea that there shouldn't be a double standard in what is and is not appropriate rhetoric on the airwaves. CNN host Rick Sanchez and White House correspondent Helen Thomas were fired for insensitive and irresponsible remarks about non-Muslims. CNN also fired Octavia Nasr for comments about a popular Muslim Lebanese leader which were deemed impolitic. If media figures can be fired for anti-Jewish or pro-Muslim comments, then the principle should be applied for anti-Muslim comments as well. But as Fox News proves time and again, anti-Muslim remarks are generally appreciated -- if not promoted -- on the network.

SELF-RIGHTEOUS: As if to prove the point, conservative pundits and politicians whipped into an apoplectic rage yesterday over NPR's announcement, with many decrying the termination as a quintessential attack method of the "super-liberal, politically correct goon squad ." An irate Fox News host Megyn Kelly blamed Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper-- who had called for "swift action" against Williams -- for the firing, repeatedly asking "are you happy now?" Right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart launched a boycott of NPR, declaring, "I refuse to be guest on NPR until Juan Williams is reinstated. I suggest all BIG editors, contributors follow same course." Former Arkansas governor and Fox News host Mike Huckabee not only joined in boycotting NPR's "censorship," but called on the government to "start making cuts to federal spending" by defunding NPR.Despite the fact that NPR gets less than six percent of its revenue from government grants and "receives no direct federal funding for operations," several more Republicans jumped on the defund bandwagon. "At a time when our country is dangerously in debt and looking for areas of federal spending to cut, I think we've found a good candidate for defunding" in NPR, wrote Tea Party maven Sarah Palin. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called on Congress to "investigate NPR" and "consider cutting off their money," while House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said, "I think it's reasonable to ask why Congress is spending taxpayers' money to support a left-wing radio network -- and in the wake of Juan Williams' firing, it's clearer than ever that's what NPR is." O'Reilly said he "wanted to take it further than that. I want it suspended today while the investigation takes place." GOP operative Karl Rove enthusiastically concurred, quipping "our country needs to save money." Last night, O'Reilly even announced to a distraught Williams that Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) will introduce legislation to defund NPR. "Congress is going to defund NPR," O'Reilly assured Williams, "and you did it."

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more descriptions of the insane inanity at the link...

The REPUKES are amazingly well coordinated and effective at this kind of total bullshit...and the MSM, of course, supports them 99%...

[Erose999]

1. HAHAHA Britefart "refuses to be a guest on NPR until Juan Williams is re-instated"

That'll show 'em Andy. haha