NPR embarrassed by Juan Williams after he compared Michelle Obama to Stokely Carmichael.
NPR embarrassed by Juan Williams after he compared Michelle Obama to Stokely Carmichael.
Last month, conservative NPR pundit Juan Williams stoked outrage when he called Michelle Obama “Stokely Carmichael in a designer dress” on Fox News. Today, NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard sharply criticized Williams for the statement, and said that the organization has asked that he no longer be identified as affiliated with NPR when appearing on The O’Reilly Factor. In response, Williams issued a partial, half-hearted apology for what he called the “faux controversy”:
When I asked Williams about his comments, he initially called it a “faux controversy.”
But then he reviewed the tape and realized that “the tone and tenor of my comments may have spurred a strong reaction to what I considered to be pure political analysis of the First Lady’s use of her White House pulpit,” said Williams via email. “I regret that in the fast-paced, argumentative format my tone and tenor seems to have led people to see me as attacking instead of explaining my informed point of view.”
Williams defended his “informed point of view” about Michelle Obama by insisting that it “is not out of the realm of main-stream political discourse.” In 2005, the NPR ombudsman emphasized that NPR journalists “should not participate in shows that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis.”
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
the organization has asked that he no longer be identified as affiliated with NPR
Oh, thank god… finally.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:02 pmso much for the “repsect the presidency” crowd. i am sure he’ll be very happy over at faux as their token.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:05 pmHow about NPR stops interviewing him on Morning Edition, too, eh? Fox can keep the smegger.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:05 pmToday, NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard sharply criticized Williams for the statement, and said that the organization has asked that he no longer be identified as affiliated with NPR when appearing on The O’Reilly Factor.
_______
I’ve got a better idea – why not let him go, so that he’s no longer affiliated with NPR at all? These are tough economic times, and I’m sure the CPB wouldn’t mind the cost savings…
February 12th, 2009 at 5:05 pmThat was definitely the epitome of a half-hearted apology. You could easily tell he wasn’t apologizing out of his own will.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:09 pmToday, NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard sharply criticized Williams for the statement, and said that the organization has asked that he no longer be identified as affiliated with NPR when appearing on The O’Reilly Factor.
How about “the organization has asked that he no longer be identified as affiliated with NPR.” Leave it at that.
Odd that sexual harassment doesn’t phase NPR:
..but a crack about the First Lady does.
Stay classy, NPR…
February 12th, 2009 at 5:09 pmhanshiro Says:
Today, NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard sharply criticized Williams for the statement, and said that the organization has asked that he no longer be identified as affiliated with NPR when appearing on The O’Reilly Factor.
How about “the organization has asked that he no longer be identified as affiliated with NPR.” Leave it at that.
Odd that sexual harassment doesn’t phase NPR:
In 1991, Williams was disciplined by the Washington Post after several female employees at the paper claimed he directed “sexually explicit and hostile comments” towards them.[2] Williams’ letter of apology read, in part: “Some of my verbal conduct was wrong. I now know that, and I extend my sincerest apology to those whom I offended.”
..but a crack about the First Lady does.
Stay classy, NPR…
“Some of my verbal conduct was wrong”
verbal conduct? Geez he does not know how to apologize.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:10 pmI appreciate that TP identifies Wiliams as a conservative pundit.
Spot on.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:13 pmWilliams defended his “informed point of view”
How did that happen?
February 12th, 2009 at 5:17 pmI’ve never understood why he’s on NPR in the first place.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:21 pmHey for everybody who was outraged at what Juan Williams said please go over to NPR and have your voice heard. It took me less than 2 minutes to sign up for their site and comment. The reason for my request is to my surprise many of the comments over there are supportive of Williams AND FauxNooz. It seems NPR is either attracting a lot of wingnuts now or the fix is in and Williams/FoxNews are sending commenters over there to support him and make it seem like its no big deal. So like I said if you want NPR to get a handle on how the public really feels about Juan Williams take two minutes out and go tell them how you really feel. Thanks.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:25 pmNPR embarrassed by Juan Williams after he compared Michelle Obama to Stokely Carmichael.»
– - Juan or Armstrong, the Williams’ never seemed any different to me.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:26 pm“Informed Point of View?”
February 12th, 2009 at 5:35 pmI don’t think so. Fire Williams and be done with it.
There’s the problem right there Juan. You blindly assume that your points of view are in any way, shape or form — informed.
Just saying . . .
February 12th, 2009 at 5:35 pmIf NPR is going to keep Juan Williams around, they need to start introducing him as a FoxNews propagandist.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:36 pmUnfortunately, Juan Williams fits right in with what passes for news at NPR these days. From the time Bob Edwards was forced out Morning Edition became little more than a forum for winger senators and representatives with a massive dose of David Frum and various AEI and Cato Institute nitwits. Misogyny aside, Williams just strikes me as willing to babble nonsense for dollars in any forum. Far too many of the other talking heads who pretend to offer news instead of commentary or analysis(Inskeep and Liasson come immediately to mind) come off more as Republican press secretaries than reporters.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:37 pmI remember sitting there with jaw hung low when I listened to Juan Williams’ dig at the First Lady, Michelle Obama. I asked myself,”Why is he so angry?” Then I considered what he had actually said and was even more appalled. His criticism was totally out-of-the-blue and laced with a dismissive kind of scorn. The whole thing was embarrassing, cold-hearted, and cowardly. I cannot understand why NPR would want anything to do with this pompous and biased so-called pundit.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:38 pmJuan Williams sold out to the highest bidder.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:41 pmBingo.
Right-wing apologia has to pay better than public broadcasting.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:46 pm11. sgwhitefla Says: So like I said if you want NPR to get a handle on how the public really feels about Juan Williams take two minutes out and go tell them how you really feel. Thanks.
There is a tipping point in every organization when the increasingly reprehensible becomes the fault of “the viewers/listeners” and not the wisdom or common f%#@ing sense of the management.
NPR knows Williams is a liability and also knows his credibility is severely compromised by appearing on Faux. To pretend that the viewers/listeners have any sway is to believe that people really wanted Glen Beck or that people are happy with the current right-wing swing by news organizations.
That newspaper subscriptions are down or teevee viewing is losing compared to factual coverage on the net makes no impression on the media idioti.
If NPR, after all this time, doesn’t realize that Williams is an extremely poor substitute for a journalist, my posting over there, so they can hit me up for donations, won’t help them wade through their benighted befuddlement as to what constitutes quality journalism.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:48 pmIsn’t he the one that got fired a couple years ago for filing “reports” and “Stories” for events and items he never attended. Basically just ripped off other jurnalist and/or pulled it all out his A$$.
Who was that I am thinking of?
February 12th, 2009 at 5:50 pmjurnalist=journalist
February 12th, 2009 at 5:51 pm21. RandomChaos Says: Who was that I am thinking of?
Jayson Blair.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:01 pmMy bad, I was thinking of Jayson Blair.
Still does not excuse
February 12th, 2009 at 6:05 pmHanshiro,
Thanks, I need to hit the refresh before posting.
RC
February 12th, 2009 at 6:07 pmObama really does need to do something about NPR. Bush stacked the board with his sycophants and ever since then NPR hasn’t been much better than Fixed News.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:13 pmNamtillaku Says:
I’ve never understood why he’s on NPR in the first place.
Because the Bush Administration packed the NPR board with conservatives and it is now pretty much another version of Fixed News.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:15 pmUncle Juan, I presume?
February 12th, 2009 at 6:19 pmNPR was created by Congress wasn’t it? If so, then it can be disbanded by Congress. Shut it down for a day, fire everyone, then hire back the ones who are interested in serving the Public (the “P” in “NPR”.)
Radical? Of course it is.
Conservatives have managed to convince people that both sides of any issue need to be given equal weight. They did this because they know they’re usually wrong.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:25 pmIf I remember correctly Bush’s administration started to castrate NPR almost immediately after his first election…Obama has only been in office for 3 weeks…
February 12th, 2009 at 6:29 pmgive his administration a LITTLE time to look at NPR..
I’m sure Juan the happy negro will go to fox full time.
I guess it take juan to know juan
Im sooooooooo sorry for that lol
February 12th, 2009 at 6:40 pmWayne A. Schneider Says:
NPR was created by Congress wasn’t it? If so, then it can be disbanded by Congress. Shut it down for a day, fire everyone, then hire back the ones who are interested in serving the Public (the “P” in “NPR”.)
February 12th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
___________
Oh HELL no. Are you kidding? Do you really want to go down the road of Congress regulating content on NPR? That’s a dangerous slope to slip on…
February 12th, 2009 at 6:42 pmNo, hussein toasterhead,
I never said Congress would run it. I merely suggested officially shutting it down for one day, then hire back the people who should be there. Then we can get rid of the people Bush put in there to destroy it.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:47 pmWayne A. Schneider Says:
I never said Congress would run it. I merely suggested officially shutting it down for one day, then hire back the people who should be there. Then we can get rid of the people Bush put in there to destroy it.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
__________
Well, okay. But it better not be a Saturday. I get antsy without Car Talk and This American Life…
February 12th, 2009 at 6:56 pmDear Juan,
You can be a proud black man or a Fox man. Not both. Not ever.
February 12th, 2009 at 7:03 pm“… ‘pure political analysis of the First Lady’s use of her White House pulpit,’ said Williams via email.” Oh, really? Where’s the connection? When did Stokely Carmichael ever have the White House as his pulpit? Idiot. Juan really does fit nicely on Fox News, though. I can see his appeal to the low-info folks.
February 12th, 2009 at 7:05 pmOh believe it ,Juan Williams will be given a platform to spew his half-baked analysis,as long as he continues to spew his hatred for his fellow African Americans.
February 12th, 2009 at 7:20 pmThis was a post on the NPR Blog and it’s just spot on:
Ed Johnson (Wellstone) wrote:
Juan Williams may have been an asset to NPR at some point in the distant past, but he’s been a liability for many years now.
His “independent” stances are usually no more than fawning regurgitation of what his powerful Conservative bosses want said, and he knows his blackness adds a resonance and credibility the Right Wing is desperate to find.
I am happy that the News Editor is pulling his NPR credentials, so to speak. FOX will keep on using him like they use Armstrong Williams, Doug Christie, and other black commentators who disingenuously know they are being trotted out like pets, but are happy to deposit the checks for as long as they keep coming.
Thursday, February 12, 2009 5:11:13 PM
Recommended (9)
February 12th, 2009 at 8:30 pmMaybe when the “Fairness Doctrine” takes place we can listen to Rush and Sean on NPR and see them on Public Broadcasting. Be careful what you wish for.
February 12th, 2009 at 8:30 pmI would guess that the name “Stokeley Carmichael” carries with it some profound associations for those who know it. It does for me, a white male child of the ’50s/60s. Wan Williams is perhaps the antithesis of all that Carmichael and his generation of militant civil rights advocates stood for. Wan was NOT complimenting Michelle Obama by the comparison/association. Carmichael is most commonly associated with the “Black Power” movement; Wan’s allusion therefore was necessarily designed to play on the fears of the standard Faux Noise viewer.
Murkins don’t do nuance.
February 12th, 2009 at 8:31 pmI have never liked or respected Juan Williams’ commentaries/analyses on Fu(k Noose. He wouldn’t know the truth if it hit him over the head like a ton of bricks. As a fellow African American, and having some insight into the minds and souls of AAs, Juan is jealous and spiteful of the Obamas. This is typical and ingrained behavior in many AAs. The words that come to mind are (in Juan’s mind), biggity, uppity N2gr0, over-stepping his bounds. Who does he think he is? His comments remind me of the words of that song, “Go on take the money and run.”
February 12th, 2009 at 8:45 pmSorry, a crack against the 1st lady is understandable. Yikes
February 12th, 2009 at 8:46 pmGo Juan
This is the same Juan Williams who, on the night of the election, was literally chocking on his tears over the historic nature of Obama’s victory. Then he turns on the President’s wife as if with a vengeance. There’s got to be something mental here. Juan needs help and NPR needs to dump him before he can do any more harm to their reputation.
February 12th, 2009 at 9:28 pmchocking=choking
February 12th, 2009 at 9:29 pmAll you people must watch a lot of Fox and also listen to Rush Right???? You seem to be able to quote them pretty well.
February 12th, 2009 at 9:44 pmHi jeanette deldin,
Hey, did you ever figure out why a political party that believes in the “sanctity of marriage” would pick a thrice-divorced man like Rush Limbaugh as their “unofficial leader”? Just wondering if you could help me understand the rationale behind that. Thanks.
February 12th, 2009 at 10:16 pmI wonder how many times Ms. Shepard had to explain to Juan Williams why his remarks were nasty, offensive, inflammatory and contemptible. His comments were neither “political analysis” nor an “informed point of view” His ‘apology’ is typical R bullshit, and wouldn’t have fooled a child.
February 12th, 2009 at 11:02 pmJuan Williams is a felching little punk. He is on a personal face-to-ass basis with every one of his KKK masters at False News. He’s so stupid that he doesn’t even realize that he’s Murdocks pet token. Crawl under the desk and get to work, boy!
February 12th, 2009 at 11:19 pmGod damn it! Obama has been in office 3 weeks and everything has not been fixed yet. What the hell is he doing?
BIG SNARK
And Summa Cum Laude in BS, that figures!
February 12th, 2009 at 11:45 pm#50)
February 12th, 2009 at 11:54 pmThat is the same exact weird bullshit you posted last time. Thing up some other stupid shit please.
Hi, dbadass.
February 13th, 2009 at 12:00 amHi Jane E. Schneider:
February 13th, 2009 at 12:03 amHow are you? I won’t bore you with the whole freegan list but I must ask if you have any suggestions for the 10 quarts of strawberries. They aren’t organic but they were free…
Ooh, I’ll try to find a recipe I have for a frozen pie that involves strawberries, rum? vodka?,yogurt, lime zest, and some special crust. How long will they keep? I should be able to find the recipe tomorrow.
February 13th, 2009 at 12:13 amA few days at most. I’ll make a few smoothies for the kids and freeze the rest. Weird thing is I just had to buy a bunch for a DNA extraction activity earlier this week
February 13th, 2009 at 12:21 am“a DNA extraction activity”
Who shot who in the what now?
February 13th, 2009 at 12:44 amjeanette deldin Says:
Sorry but you are an ignorant moronic piece of garbage and no one with a single functioning braincell cares WHAT you think MORON.
February 13th, 2009 at 1:32 pm“…explaining my informed point of view.”
ha ha
“…explaining my deformed point of view.”
Fixed your typo, Juan!
ha ha
February 14th, 2009 at 12:26 am