NPR's ombudswoman, Alicia Shephard, says the firing of news analyst Juan Williams over his anti-Muslim remarks on Fox News was poorly handled but right. He did, after all, break a clear ethics code in stating his opinion on another network and had probably been dancing around violating that ethics code during his Fox appearances for some time.
What's surprising to me about this is the uproar. Shephard says it generated a record number of e-mails and comments. But I can't help but think this is because Williams' firing feeds into the notion that NPR, a stand-in for the national media, is liberal. As Paul predicted, Williams has become a liberal martyr among conservatives. But the truth is, had an NPR reporter gone to a political rally, he or she would likely have been fired, too. NPR reminded reporters of their ethical obligations recently when it sent out a memo telling employees they couldn't attend the Stewart/Colbert rallies scheduled for next week. I doubt, somehow, that a reporter or news analyst fired for making progressive remarks would have caused such a response, though.
-- Monica Potts
