Should we "defund" NPR?

[DawnCt1]

In light of the recent firing of Juan Williams from National Public Radio, Should we withdraw taxpayer funding from that entity?

 

[LuvOrlando]

Touchy subject but I think the way this was handled was absolutely disgusting. I don't think anyone out there is laboring under the delusion that anything put forth as 'news' by big organizations is ethical (which is why we all ignore them and they are going broke ) BUT THERE ARE LIMITS even to that. Treating an employee like a mindless puppet is really over the line for me this looks like there could even be racist elements of domination in the firing of the man involved.

I have a huge problem with ANY government getting it's dirty mitts into the information game so I frankly think there should never have been funding in the first place. What country are we supposed to be in again? I thought our journalists were supposed to have ethical standards of being unbiased, now we have a guy who was blatantly fired because he didn't toe the line and actually spoke his mind. I like a good debate with the gloves off and that can't happen when free speech is stifled in a way that can destroy a person's ability to feed his or her family. Since when is it legal to fire someone for their beliefs? I thought we tackled that issue a long time ago. The problem with what happened to Mr. Williams is less about his views and more about the fact a government funded organization broke so many of our own government's laws.... where is the ACLU, isn't this their bread and butter?

I'll be watching this one closely along with some other unusual trends that seem to be popping up.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Yes.

 

[Mermaid02]

Yes

 

[MissFitt]

Absolutly not and it's disgusting that someone would even think of such a thing!

 

[DawnCt1]

Touchy subject but I think the way this was handled was absolutely disgusting. I don't think anyone out there is laboring under the delusion that anything put forth as 'news' by big organizations is ethical (which is why we all ignore them and they are going broke ) BUT THERE ARE LIMITS even to that. Treating an employee like a mindless puppet is really over the line for me this looks like there could even be racist elements of domination in the firing of the man involved.

I have a huge problem with ANY government getting it's dirty mitts into the information game so I don't know if funding should be withdrawn over this as much as I think there should never have been funding in the first place. What country are we supposed to be in again? I thought our journalists were supposed to have ethical standards of being unbiased, now we have a guy who was blatantly fired because he didn't toe the line and actually spoke his mind. I like a good debate with the gloves off and that can't happen when free speech is stifled in a way that can destroy a person's ability to feed his or her family. Since when is it legal to fire someone for their beliefs? I thought we tackled that issue a long time ago. The problem with what happened to Mr. Williams is less about his views and more about the fact a government funded organization broke so many of our own government's laws.... where is the ACLU, isn't this their bread and butter?

Very well said. While they are exempt from providing first amendment protections, they may have violated his contractual rights. If he wasn't allow to participate in opinions and punditry on other networks, as soon as they tolerated it, which has been at least for several years, they waived the right to fire him on those grounds. Secondly, they tolerate Maura Liasson's appearances on Fox. Nina Totenberg's commentary as well as Cokie Robert's over the years.
Worse yet, was the CEO, Vivian Schiller's suggestion that he should keep it between himself and his "psychiatrist". How slanderous.

 

[DawnCt1]

Absolutly not and it's disgusting that someone would even think of such a thing!

Then you must be disgusted with most Americans because his feelings reflect those of the majority of Americans. In fact, the WSJ this morning has commentary by a Muslim American who feels exactly the way Juan Williams feels. He was not suggesting that they should be treated differently. He was expressing his sense of anxiety under those circumstances.

 

[Pigeon]

And this would not be a political thread how?

 

[Mermaid02]

Absolutly not and it's disgusting that someone would even think of such a thing!

Well color me disgusting........

 

[LuvOrlando]

Absolutly not and it's disgusting that someone would even think of such a thing!

You think it was ok he got fired for expressing an opinion?

I'm curious, how come you feel this way?

 

[tlmdisney]

"And though NPR is widely seen as publicly funded, the majority of its funding does not come (even indirectly) from taxpayers. NPR doesn't receive direct federal funding for operations - the largest chunk of its money comes from program fees and station dues, as NPR's finances page lays out."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20020383-503544.html

NPR has a very clear rules, Jaun Williams violated them. NPR had every right to fire him.
9. NPR journalists must get permission from the Vice President for their Division or their designee to appear on TV or other media. It is not necessary to get permission in each instance when the employee is a regular participant on an approved show. Permission for such appearances may be revoked if NPR determines such appearances are harmful to the reputation of NPR or the NPR participant.

10. In appearing on TV or other media including electronic Web-based forums, NPR journalists should not express views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist. They should not participate in shows electronic forums, or blogs that encourage punditry and speculation rather than rather than fact-based analysis.
http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/ethics/ethics_code.html

 

[LuvOrlando]

And this would not be a political thread how?

Isn't the thread about wrongful termination by a gov't funded program because of bias?

I'm not into whether the guys views have merit or not as much as I'm concerned that views themselves can get someone fired.

 

[LiberalPrincess]

I don't understand the reasoning behind de-funding an organization because of their staffing decisions. The government funds many organizations and gives tax exemptions to even more that I strongly disagree with. Should all churches lose their exemptions because of some of the horrible decisions the powers that be have made within their organizations? Should we defund Capitol Hill when a Senator fires a staffer? Should we defund schools when a violent action occurs on their grounds or when a teacher is fired? Just because the government is funding something does not mean that every decision has to be approved by tax-payers nor should the government have that kind of control over the organizations they fund.

 

[Robinrs]

Not on topic but I just wanted to mention I grew up with Juan Williams and had the worse mad crush on him as a kid.

He was VERY quiet and shy... and well, I'm NOT, so I just worshipped him from afar.

Too bad about the firing but hey, he got a good deal out of it, and a thread on the DIS. Not bad for a days work.

 

[SaraJayne]

No, and those that are tossing it around like some type of threat obviously have no idea what they are talking about.

 

[SaraJayne]

"And though NPR is widely seen as publicly funded, the majority of its funding does not come (even indirectly) from taxpayers. NPR doesn't receive direct federal funding for operations - the largest chunk of its money comes from program fees and station dues, as NPR's finances page lays out."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20020383-503544.html

NPR has a very clear rules, Jaun Williams violated them. NPR had every right to fire him.
9. NPR journalists must get permission from the Vice President for their Division or their designee to appear on TV or other media. It is not necessary to get permission in each instance when the employee is a regular participant on an approved show. Permission for such appearances may be revoked if NPR determines such appearances are harmful to the reputation of NPR or the NPR participant.

10. In appearing on TV or other media including electronic Web-based forums, NPR journalists should not express views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist. They should not participate in shows electronic forums, or blogs that encourage punditry and speculation rather than rather than fact-based analysis.
http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/ethics/ethics_code.html

Shouldareadahead.

 

[NotUrsula]

Then you must be disgusted with most Americans because his feelings reflect those of the majority of Americans. In fact, the WSJ this morning has commentary by a Muslim American who feels exactly the way Juan Williams feels. He was not suggesting that they should be treated differently. He was expressing his sense of anxiety under those circumstances.

I think that it is serious overkill to suggest completely pulling federal funding for an agency that does a lot of good for a lot of people just because management bungled a personnel matter. You investigate, you reprimand and if necessary remove some people who are not paying attention to civil rights laws when it comes to their personnel decisions, and you move on.

I do NOT think Juan Williams should have been fired for what he said, and FWIW, I'm as liberal I can be. I personally think his statement is bizarrely ironic for a black man, but that's neither here nor there in regard to the subject at hand. However, let's put the blame where it belongs: on his bosses. He was not at work when he said it; he was on his own time. They took what should have been a privately-dealt-with personnel matter and blew it to hell and back. If they felt that what he said reflected poorly on NPR, all that they needed to do was to issue a statement that said something like: "Mr. Williams' recent comments on the Program "The O'Reilly Factor" were solely his own, and reflected his personal opinions. His words do not reflect the policies or standards of National Public Radio and should not be interpreted as such."

End of issue as far as the public is concerned.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Not on topic but I just wanted to mention I grew up with Juan Williams and had the worse mad crush on him as a kid.

He was VERY quiet and shy... and well, I'm NOT, so I just worshipped him from afar.

Too bad about the firing but hey, he got a good deal out of it, and a thread on the DIS. Not bad for a days work.

Yes he did! That was the silver lining.

I was surprised he was fired over his feelings. It wasn't an opinion. It was the man's feelings. He was quite clear about that.

NPR comes across very badly. Knee-jerk reaction.

 

[luvmy3]

"And though NPR is widely seen as publicly funded, the majority of its funding does not come (even indirectly) from taxpayers. NPR doesn't receive direct federal funding for operations - the largest chunk of its money comes from program fees and station dues, as NPR's finances page lays out."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20020383-503544.html

NPR has a very clear rules, Jaun Williams violated them. NPR had every right to fire him.
9. NPR journalists must get permission from the Vice President for their Division or their designee to appear on TV or other media. It is not necessary to get permission in each instance when the employee is a regular participant on an approved show. Permission for such appearances may be revoked if NPR determines such appearances are harmful to the reputation of NPR or the NPR participant.

10. In appearing on TV or other media including electronic Web-based forums, NPR journalists should not express views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist. They should not participate in shows electronic forums, or blogs that encourage punditry and speculation rather than rather than fact-based analysis.
http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/ethics/ethics_code.html

Juan Williams has been a contributor on FOX for awhile, so why now are they dusting off the rule book?

 

[BunsenH]

What % of their funding comes from the US gov't?
How many $$?