Juan Williams Fired
News analyst, Juan Williams, was fired from NPR over remarks he made on The O’Reilly Factor Monday. Williams responded to Bill O’Reilly’s comments on The View that, “Muslims killed us on 9/11.” “I think you’re right,” Williams said, “political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don’t address reality.” Williams then said that he gets “nervous” and “worried” when he sees people in “Muslim garb” on airplanes.
Williams also commented on remarks by Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad warning Americans that the fight is coming to the U.S.
“He said the war with Muslims, America’s war is just beginning, first drop of blood. I don’t think there’s any way to get away from these facts,” Williams said.
“Tonight we gave Juan Williams notice that we are terminating his contract as a senior news analyst for NPR News,” CEO Vivian Schiller and Senior Vice President for News Ellen Weiss said in a statement.
“Juan has been a valuable contributor to NPR and public radio for many years and we did not make this decision lightly or without regret. However, his remarks on ‘The O’Reilly Factor’ this past Monday were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR,” they said.
This is the most recent in a string of firings for making politically incorrect statements. Media figures such as Rick Sanchez, Octavia Nasr and Helen Thomas were fired for insensitive remarks they made as well. If political correctness is determined by the power brokers, then incorrectness will be punished.
