Promoting Fear and Balance

Image by Fairfax County Public Library via FlickrUnless you're an avid consumer of public radio and/or cable news, you've probably never heard of Juan Williams before last week.  Isn't he the guy who got fired from NPR (National Public Radio) as a news analyst for saying on TV that Muslims in traditional garb make him nervous when they share the same plane flight?

Williams said that during one of his appearances on the Fox News Channel, where he serves as a commentator.  NPR let him go because he was derelict in his duties, so they say.  So what's the difference between a commentator and a news analyst, you ask?  It depends on the employer.  FNC likes to think of itself as "fair and balanced", so long as its news coverage and the commentators who appear on it tilt to the right.  NPR is more in the traditional mode, where they tend to report the news straight and their analysts are supposed to hide their biases.  In other words, to conservatives, they're just another liberal network.

Leaving aside questions about this latest example of Islamophobia, promoting fear does have its rewards.  Williams, generally considered to be a liberal as well as being one of the few African-American faces on FNC, was just offered a new contract to remain as the resident punching bag for Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, etc.

Because of this incident, Republicans are threatening to cut NPR's federal funding when the next Congress convenes.  Conservatives would like nothing better than to see public broadcasting die.  And replace it with what?  They already have their own bullhorns in FNC and talk radio to shove down people's throats.

Pledge drives, as much as we loathe them, have never been better for NPR's member stations despite the Williams dismissal.  That said, why does NPR allow its people to appear on a network known for demonizing liberals?  And why was Williams tossed out with the trash without so much as a warning?  Does he not have a First Amendment right to say what he thinks at the risk of getting fired?

Fox News shouldn't be covering themselves with glory in this matter, either.  They are the most-watched of all the cable news channels, whether it's for regular programming or breaking news.  They have become, more or less, the house organ for the GOP.  But they are also the most reckless in its attitudes toward anyone who doesn't agree with them, and who in their view are a danger to the American Way of Life..  That's why Juan Williams has a job there, to reinforce those attitudes without having to keep his biases in check.