The Chainlink

Did NPR go too far when they fired Juan Williams?

Well, did they?

Views: 98

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 26, 2010 at 12:26am


Minh said:
It's too bad this is about public radio. I guess since we are bragging about not watching "TV", I haven't watched TV in over 8 years.




Pablo said:
Ladies and Gent,
I think it may be time to throw the TV out. I cut that cord 2 years ago and now I just smile when I hear silly conversations like this. Go live your life.

You asked for this:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-...
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on October 26, 2010 at 9:11am
You'd be amazed by how many people actually do; especially those of various political persuasions you'd least expect. Its localized programming structure does allow for a rather broad appeal.


H3N3 said:
Anyone else ever notice how people who listen to NPR think everyone else on the planet does too?
Permalink Reply by Davo on October 26, 2010 at 9:44am
I feel like a broken record sometimes when chatting with friends.
"Did you hear this story on NPR...I heard this on NPR..."
But thats cuz its on all day when I work.


Michael Perz said:
You'd be amazed by how many people actually do; especially those of various political persuasions you'd least expect. Its localized programming structure does allow for a rather broad appeal.


H3N3 said:
Anyone else ever notice how people who listen to NPR think everyone else on the planet does too?
Permalink Reply by Mark Kenseth on October 26, 2010 at 10:02am
i'm the same way. i sometimes start a story only to have the other person say, "i heard that on NPR also."

as for mr. williams. i think it's within NPR's right to fire him. i don't know the full story, but it sounds like juan was given warnings. juan's opinion is more than an opinion when working for a media company. it was racist. i couldn't say, "when i see (insert ethnic group here) on a bus, i get scared." i could say it, but if i said it in the office-place, it may offend people, and i'd get a warning. i once had a boss that said the most uncouth things, and we hated it (and always laughed behind his back at him, not with him). if us employees could have reprimanded him, we would have. if NPR has a code of ethics and warned juan about it, then he obviously didn't respect his employer. maybe he wanted to get fired so he could work at fox.

lots of questions still, and an interesting story.



Davo said:
I feel like a broken record sometimes when chatting with friends.
"Did you hear this story on NPR...I heard this on NPR..."
But thats cuz its on all day when I work.


Michael Perz said:
You'd be amazed by how many people actually do; especially those of various political persuasions you'd least expect. Its localized programming structure does allow for a rather broad appeal.


H3N3 said:
Anyone else ever notice how people who listen to NPR think everyone else on the planet does too?
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on October 26, 2010 at 10:28am
Admitting to being afraid when in the presence of a certain group is not the same as claiming that group deserves to be feared. When did racism receive such a broad definition?



Mark Kenseth said:
i'm the same way. i sometimes start a story only to have the other person say, "i heard that on NPR also."

as for mr. williams. i think it's within NPR's right to fire him. i don't know the full story, but it sounds like juan was given warnings. juan's opinion is more than an opinion when working for a media company. it was racist. i couldn't say, "when i see (insert ethnic group here) on a bus, i get scared." i could say it, but if i said it in the office-place, it may offend people, and i'd get a warning. i once had a boss that said the most uncouth things, and we hated it (and always laughed behind his back at him, not with him). if us employees could have reprimanded him, we would have. if NPR has a code of ethics and warned juan about it, then he obviously didn't respect his employer. maybe he wanted to get fired so he could work at fox.

lots of questions still, and an interesting story.



Davo said:
I feel like a broken record sometimes when chatting with friends.
"Did you hear this story on NPR...I heard this on NPR..."
But thats cuz its on all day when I work.


Michael Perz said:
You'd be amazed by how many people actually do; especially those of various political persuasions you'd least expect. Its localized programming structure does allow for a rather broad appeal.


H3N3 said:
Anyone else ever notice how people who listen to NPR think everyone else on the planet does too?
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 26, 2010 at 11:34am
And associating a right-wing network with a genocidal, racist political party is rational?

http://xkcd.com/261/


Jeff Schneider said:
It is not possible to appear on Fox and still be considered rational. They are a bunch of Nazis. He should have been fired by NPR long ago.
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on October 26, 2010 at 1:58pm
The notion of a truly objective news network is a fairy tale. It's a Leprechaun riding a Unicorn over the Skittles rainbow into Narnia. All people of adult age, myself included, are fairly set in the convictions they've developed throughout their lives. It is only natural to seek news from sources that simultaneously present it and reinforce these convictions. Anybody that says otherwise is lying through their teeth, even if just to themselves. I'm not a cable subscriber and am not intimately familiar with Newscorp, but I have seen enough of it to determine that their "Fair and Balanced" slogan is a joke - one so blatant that it may as well have originated from the pen of V.A. Musetto. NPR is guilty of the exact same thing, only they're better at keeping a straight face.
Permalink Reply by Davo on October 26, 2010 at 2:09pm
"Admitting to being afraid when in the presence of a certain group is not the same as claiming that group deserves to be feared. When did racism receive such a broad definition?"

So would I be racist if I said that Juan Williams speaks well?
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 26, 2010 at 5:57pm
Here ya go, in case anyone is interested in the context rather than trying to reduce the chain of events to easy-to-argue but incomplete components:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Williams
Some links to a few decent sources for coverage of the "firing" in the references at the bottom.
Permalink Reply by Ken Gray on October 26, 2010 at 6:15pm
I'm ready to state my view. The firing was a rather unfortunate knee jerk reaction that hurt NPR even if only in the short term. It could have been handled better assuming that it really needed to be handled at all.

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service