G
Gandalf Grey
Guest
Juan Williams, Fox News and the NPR conundrum
By Eric Boehlert
Created Oct 3 2007 - 9:47am
For years, journalist Juan Williams has straddled the divide between two
unique media worlds; the thoughtful and erudite journalism of National
Public Radio (NPR), where Williams serves as an analyst, and the rowdy
hothouse at Fox News, where Williams works as a contributor. Most of the
time, the two worlds don't collide. But recently they did, and NPR has the
bruises to show for it.
That's because last week Williams wasn't commenting about the news, he was
in the middle of it. First, he became entangled in the controversy that
swirled around Bill O'Reilly's employee standards [1], which prohibit
staffers from appearing on programs that "encourage punditry and speculation
rather than fact-based analysis" and are "harmful to the reputation of NPR."
Content-wise, The O'Reilly Factor is a complete train wreck. As O'Reilly
biographer [2] Marvin Kitman recently noted, "Frankly, I can't listen to him
anymore. As much as I praised the early O'Reilly, I think he's gone nuts.
.... He just seems to go berserk more often now."
That's no secret, and my guess is that senior executives at NPR understand
that about O'Reilly. And yet NPR let Williams appear on The O'Reilly Factor
in his effort to bail out the host from a brewing race-based media scandal.
The fact that Williams repeatedly misled viewers while recounting O'Reilly's
comments last week also did not help NPR's cause.
Evidence suggests that, behind the scenes, NPR is not happy about Williams'
relationship with Fox News. If so, now is the time for the network to
address the growing problem.
Complaints about Williams' alliance with Fox News are not new. For years he
has drawn criticism from liberals who protest his weekly appearances on the
more grown-up Fox News Sunday, arguing there are better advocates for
genuinely liberal positions than Williams, who, for instance, was a
supporter of Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court nomination. Over the years
though, I've found Williams to be among the most consistently focused and
aggressive of the so-called Fox News Democrats [3], often (though not
always) pushing back against the particularly egregious Republican talking
points that swamp the Fox News Sunday telecast.
If Williams wants to serve as a well-paid prop, a self-described "foil,"
brought in to manufacture entertaining conflict [4] in front of the Fox News
cameras for un-persuadable viewers who vote overwhelmingly Republican,
that's his choice.
What changed last week was that Williams inserted himself into the news and
cast himself as the great Fox News defender, and did it on The O'Reilly
Factor, a program no serious NPR journalist should ever appear on.
Williams played a starring role in O'Reilly's saga surrounding Sylvia's
restaurant in Harlem, because it was on that same broadcast that the host
interviewed Williams and the two men talked about race in America, including
damaging stereotypes that exist. (Williams was busy promoting his book, now
out in paperback.) So when more and more news outlets began asking questions
about why O'Reilly was surprised a black restaurant in Harlem was like a
white restaurant in midtown Manhattan, Williams was quickly invited onto The
O'Reilly Factor to help explain away the story.
Clamoring about how news organizations were guilty of "rank dishonesty" in
covering the O'Reilly controversy (they're trying to "shut you up"),
Williams conveniently sidestepped the host's most inflammatory remarks from
the telecast. Williams had nothing to say about O'Reilly's condescending
suggestion that "black Americans are starting to think more and more for
themselves." Again and again, Williams took to the airwaves to defend
O'Reilly, including on Fox News host John Gibson's radio program, and again
and again Williams simply flushed that quote down the memory hole and
pretended it never happened. I assume that's because the quote did not fit
into Williams' defense of O'Reilly being the victim of a smear campaign, or
simply being misunderstood.
Meanwhile, appearing on The O'Reilly Factor, Williams wouldn't touch
O'Reilly's Quote of The Week:
And I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between
Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it
was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black
patronship.
Days later, on September 30, Williams appeared [5] on C-SPAN's Washington
Journal, and a caller very specifically asked him to address that quote.
Williams though, ripped it out of context and told viewers that O'Reilly
made that comment as a way to compare the peaceful scene at Sylvia's to the
ugly stereotype of black America that's portrayed through gangsta rap
videos. But that's simply not true. The discussion O'Reilly and Williams had
about rap video images came well after O'Reilly made his initial comments
about Sylvia's. It's simply not accurate to suggest O'Reilly told the "no
difference" story about Sylvia's amidst a larger discussion about gangsta
rap. But Williams, playing defense for the Fox News host, did his best to
re-tell the story in an O'Reilly-friendly way.
Writing an essay for Time magazine, Williams made an absurdly shallow [6]
(and dishonest) attempt at explaining the details of the controversy.
According to Williams' thin spin, O'Reilly was unfairly "slammed" simply
"for saying he went to a restaurant in Harlem and had a good time." That's
like saying Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) got slammed for simply not flushing the
toilet at the Minneapolis airport. Williams could not even bring himself to
reprint O'Reilly's quote about being surprised that Sylvia's was just like
any other restaurant "even though it's run by blacks."
Of all his media appearances last week, it was Williams' stint on The
O'Reilly Factor that was most noteworthy, simply because Williams provided
O'Reilly with crucial political cover by rushing to his defense. I
understand why O'Reilly was desperate for Williams to appear on The O'Reilly
Factor. I cannot understand, however, why NPR allowed it.
Public broadcasting guidelines clearly state that when appearing on outside
programs "journalists should not express views they would not air in their
role as an NPR journalist." They should not appear on programs that are
"harmful to the reputation of NPR." And, "They should not participate in
shows, electronic forums, or blogs that encourage punditry and speculation
rather than fact-based analysis."
Let's take them one at a time. First, when he appeared on The O'Reilly
Factor last week to announce that there was a media conspiracy in motion to
try to shut Bill O'Reilly up, was Williams expressing views that he would
not air on NPR? My hunch is yes. And FYI, according to a Nexis search of the
transcripts, Williams did not discuss O'Reilly on NPR last week. Second, is
The O'Reilly Factor a program that is harmful to NPR's reputation? Of
course. And third, is it a program that encourages (wild) speculation? It
is.
Additionally, the NPR Code of Ethics [7] forbids all NPR journalists from
participating in appearances that "may appear to endorse the agenda of a
group or organization." Fox News, as an organization, has an open political
agenda, and by defending O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor, NPR's Williams was
endorsing that organization's agenda, which was to attack and smear anyone
who raised questions about the host's incendiary comments.
Clearly Williams' appearances on The O'Reilly Factor ran counter to NPR's
established guidelines. Or can you name a single other "news" program that,
based on public broadcasting standards, would be more inappropriate for an
NPR employee to appear on and pontificate?
And last week wasn't the first time Williams sprinted to O'Reilly's side
during an embarrassing media moment. Back in January when O'Reilly appeared
on CBS' Late Show with David Letterman, the host, during some entertaining
banter, zinged his guest by claiming 60 percent of what O'Reilly says is
"crap." O'Reilly was widely seen as the loser in the televised t
By Eric Boehlert
Created Oct 3 2007 - 9:47am
For years, journalist Juan Williams has straddled the divide between two
unique media worlds; the thoughtful and erudite journalism of National
Public Radio (NPR), where Williams serves as an analyst, and the rowdy
hothouse at Fox News, where Williams works as a contributor. Most of the
time, the two worlds don't collide. But recently they did, and NPR has the
bruises to show for it.
That's because last week Williams wasn't commenting about the news, he was
in the middle of it. First, he became entangled in the controversy that
swirled around Bill O'Reilly's employee standards [1], which prohibit
staffers from appearing on programs that "encourage punditry and speculation
rather than fact-based analysis" and are "harmful to the reputation of NPR."
Content-wise, The O'Reilly Factor is a complete train wreck. As O'Reilly
biographer [2] Marvin Kitman recently noted, "Frankly, I can't listen to him
anymore. As much as I praised the early O'Reilly, I think he's gone nuts.
.... He just seems to go berserk more often now."
That's no secret, and my guess is that senior executives at NPR understand
that about O'Reilly. And yet NPR let Williams appear on The O'Reilly Factor
in his effort to bail out the host from a brewing race-based media scandal.
The fact that Williams repeatedly misled viewers while recounting O'Reilly's
comments last week also did not help NPR's cause.
Evidence suggests that, behind the scenes, NPR is not happy about Williams'
relationship with Fox News. If so, now is the time for the network to
address the growing problem.
Complaints about Williams' alliance with Fox News are not new. For years he
has drawn criticism from liberals who protest his weekly appearances on the
more grown-up Fox News Sunday, arguing there are better advocates for
genuinely liberal positions than Williams, who, for instance, was a
supporter of Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court nomination. Over the years
though, I've found Williams to be among the most consistently focused and
aggressive of the so-called Fox News Democrats [3], often (though not
always) pushing back against the particularly egregious Republican talking
points that swamp the Fox News Sunday telecast.
If Williams wants to serve as a well-paid prop, a self-described "foil,"
brought in to manufacture entertaining conflict [4] in front of the Fox News
cameras for un-persuadable viewers who vote overwhelmingly Republican,
that's his choice.
What changed last week was that Williams inserted himself into the news and
cast himself as the great Fox News defender, and did it on The O'Reilly
Factor, a program no serious NPR journalist should ever appear on.
Williams played a starring role in O'Reilly's saga surrounding Sylvia's
restaurant in Harlem, because it was on that same broadcast that the host
interviewed Williams and the two men talked about race in America, including
damaging stereotypes that exist. (Williams was busy promoting his book, now
out in paperback.) So when more and more news outlets began asking questions
about why O'Reilly was surprised a black restaurant in Harlem was like a
white restaurant in midtown Manhattan, Williams was quickly invited onto The
O'Reilly Factor to help explain away the story.
Clamoring about how news organizations were guilty of "rank dishonesty" in
covering the O'Reilly controversy (they're trying to "shut you up"),
Williams conveniently sidestepped the host's most inflammatory remarks from
the telecast. Williams had nothing to say about O'Reilly's condescending
suggestion that "black Americans are starting to think more and more for
themselves." Again and again, Williams took to the airwaves to defend
O'Reilly, including on Fox News host John Gibson's radio program, and again
and again Williams simply flushed that quote down the memory hole and
pretended it never happened. I assume that's because the quote did not fit
into Williams' defense of O'Reilly being the victim of a smear campaign, or
simply being misunderstood.
Meanwhile, appearing on The O'Reilly Factor, Williams wouldn't touch
O'Reilly's Quote of The Week:
And I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between
Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it
was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black
patronship.
Days later, on September 30, Williams appeared [5] on C-SPAN's Washington
Journal, and a caller very specifically asked him to address that quote.
Williams though, ripped it out of context and told viewers that O'Reilly
made that comment as a way to compare the peaceful scene at Sylvia's to the
ugly stereotype of black America that's portrayed through gangsta rap
videos. But that's simply not true. The discussion O'Reilly and Williams had
about rap video images came well after O'Reilly made his initial comments
about Sylvia's. It's simply not accurate to suggest O'Reilly told the "no
difference" story about Sylvia's amidst a larger discussion about gangsta
rap. But Williams, playing defense for the Fox News host, did his best to
re-tell the story in an O'Reilly-friendly way.
Writing an essay for Time magazine, Williams made an absurdly shallow [6]
(and dishonest) attempt at explaining the details of the controversy.
According to Williams' thin spin, O'Reilly was unfairly "slammed" simply
"for saying he went to a restaurant in Harlem and had a good time." That's
like saying Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) got slammed for simply not flushing the
toilet at the Minneapolis airport. Williams could not even bring himself to
reprint O'Reilly's quote about being surprised that Sylvia's was just like
any other restaurant "even though it's run by blacks."
Of all his media appearances last week, it was Williams' stint on The
O'Reilly Factor that was most noteworthy, simply because Williams provided
O'Reilly with crucial political cover by rushing to his defense. I
understand why O'Reilly was desperate for Williams to appear on The O'Reilly
Factor. I cannot understand, however, why NPR allowed it.
Public broadcasting guidelines clearly state that when appearing on outside
programs "journalists should not express views they would not air in their
role as an NPR journalist." They should not appear on programs that are
"harmful to the reputation of NPR." And, "They should not participate in
shows, electronic forums, or blogs that encourage punditry and speculation
rather than fact-based analysis."
Let's take them one at a time. First, when he appeared on The O'Reilly
Factor last week to announce that there was a media conspiracy in motion to
try to shut Bill O'Reilly up, was Williams expressing views that he would
not air on NPR? My hunch is yes. And FYI, according to a Nexis search of the
transcripts, Williams did not discuss O'Reilly on NPR last week. Second, is
The O'Reilly Factor a program that is harmful to NPR's reputation? Of
course. And third, is it a program that encourages (wild) speculation? It
is.
Additionally, the NPR Code of Ethics [7] forbids all NPR journalists from
participating in appearances that "may appear to endorse the agenda of a
group or organization." Fox News, as an organization, has an open political
agenda, and by defending O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor, NPR's Williams was
endorsing that organization's agenda, which was to attack and smear anyone
who raised questions about the host's incendiary comments.
Clearly Williams' appearances on The O'Reilly Factor ran counter to NPR's
established guidelines. Or can you name a single other "news" program that,
based on public broadcasting standards, would be more inappropriate for an
NPR employee to appear on and pontificate?
And last week wasn't the first time Williams sprinted to O'Reilly's side
during an embarrassing media moment. Back in January when O'Reilly appeared
on CBS' Late Show with David Letterman, the host, during some entertaining
banter, zinged his guest by claiming 60 percent of what O'Reilly says is
"crap." O'Reilly was widely seen as the loser in the televised t