Juan Williams Gets New FNC Contract…
Matea Gold, who I thought was off the TV beat (old habits die hard?), writes that Juan Williams has signed a new multi-million dollar deal with FNC that will expand his role with the network.
As NPR weathered a storm of criticism Thursday for its decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams for his comments about Muslims, Fox News moved aggressively to turn the controversy to its advantage by signing Williams to an expanded role at the cable news network.
Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes handed Williams a new three-year contract Thursday morning, in a deal that amounts to nearly $2 million, a considerable bump up from his previous salary, the Tribune Washington Bureau has learned. The Fox News contributor will now appear exclusively and more frequently on the cable news network and have a regular column on FoxNews.com.
“Juan has been a staunch defender of liberal viewpoints since his tenure began at Fox News in 1997,” Ailes said in a statement, adding a jab at NPR: “He’s an honest man whose freedom of speech is protected by Fox News on a daily basis.”
Ok, that last sentence was uncharacteristically bad coming from Roger Ailes who usually doesn’t allow himself to be put in a position where he can be so easily shot down. I get that he wants to throw an elbow at NPR, but come on. There is no and has never been any freedom of speech as far as private enterprise is concerned. The employer holds all the cards and the employee has to agree to the hand when he signs on board. There are codes of conduct. There are limits on what is permissable based entirely on the employer’s judgement. Just one week ago Brian Kilmeade had to apologize both on FNC’s air and on his FNC radio show for something he said the previous week concerning muslims and terrorism. Being an opinion head is not a blank check to say whatever you want without risking consequence from your employer. Just ask former CNNer Octavia Nasr, former NBC Military analyst William Arkin, former CNN anchor Rick Sanchez, former CBS Football bookmaker Jimmy The Greek, Ashleigh Banfield when she was with MSNBC, David Shuster. The list of people who have been dismissed or had their careers cut short from their network or otherwise damaged for things they didn’t even say or do while in their network’s domain is a long one. Add Juan Williams to that list.
This isn’t about the first amendment or anything like it. This issue is about an employer making a calculation regarding whether something an employee did was not in the best interests of the employer. NPR made such a calculation and decided to cut Williams loose. I don’t think it was justified and it’s not the decision I would have made but that’s their prerogative in a free market system. So spare me the waving of the Freedom of Speech banner because it doesn’t apply here.
Inside Cable News 
October 21, 2010 at 4:52 pm
I agree this has little to do with freedom of speech. But I do think political correctness does play a role, not so much in NPR’s decision but how others reacted to Williams’ remarks. We are too hyper-sensitive. Because of this PC environment, NPR felt that it was in their interest to cut him loose. In a less PC society, Williams would still have his job.
Although it seems everybody wins in the end. Williams gets huge contract with Fox, NPR gets rid of a liability. The free market works.
October 21, 2010 at 4:53 pm
You right, Spud. Nice post.
October 21, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Josh, I agree about the PC thing. It’s what got Nasr fired more than anything else.
October 21, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Somebody needs to take Billy O’Reilly down with a tranquilizing dart gun. Set it on maximum.
He’s just ridiculous this evening. He wants everybody in management at NPR fired. He wants all public funds allocated to NPR frozen. He wants a congressional inquiry into the matter.
And he calls NPR a “totalitarian” organization.
Now he’s blaming Soros’s “smear machine.” With Mr. Bipartisan himself, Karl Rove.
If he mentions Gitmo, I’m turning on Olbermann.
Unwatchable, simply unwatchable.
October 21, 2010 at 5:54 pm
I agree this has nothing to do with freedom of speech. NPR can do what NPR wishes to do… even O’Reilly said that tonight.
For most of these personnel matters, I figure it’s none of my business who a network chooses to hire or fire. My problem with NPR, this time, is that they falsely accused Williams of being a bigot – an anathema to what he’s worked his entire life to achieve.
It’s not a lot of money that I contribute to NPR and public radio stations every year, but it’s a lot to me. I’m thinking a local theatre group will better appreciate my gift. Click & Clack will hate it when they hear me say it: NPR sucks.
October 21, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Three days from now there will be some new outrage for FNC to rant against and this will all be forgotten. But at the moment it’s crazy out there.
October 21, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Keep up the good fight, fritz. It’ll all blow-over soon. Hakuna matata.
October 21, 2010 at 6:28 pm
now theres a surprise. everyone knew fox would help the poor boy out. just another fox noiser.
October 21, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Al, you didn’t happen to see Click and Clack’s TV show, did you? Weirdest animated comedy ever.
October 21, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Al, you didn’t happen to see Click and Clack’s TV show, did you? Weirdest animated comedy ever.
Dude, what the hell was that? Unbelievably, unwatchably bizarre.
October 21, 2010 at 7:14 pm
I find it interesting that most of the comments here are coming from the bluer side of the aisle.
October 21, 2010 at 7:33 pm
“I find it interesting that most of the comments here are coming from the bluer side of the aisle.”
Well, I’ve been coaching T-ball tonight (by that, I mean telling kids to stop rolling around in the grass).
So, here goes:
Ailes said his freedom of speech would be protected by FNC. I take that to mean, FNC won’t throw a hissy fit & fire him if he says something the brass doesn’t like. I haven’t seen O’Reilly yet (I’ll watch it later) but if he wants NPR de-funded and thinks they should compete in the open market, I’m with him. Does anyone think that if NPR was as conservative as it is liberal it wouldn’t have been de-funded a looooong time ago? 3 days from now, there may be a new “outrage” but this story isn’t going to die. Speaking of outrage, do you mean harping on some witch story from someone’s high school days? Harry: blah, blah, bleehh.
October 21, 2010 at 7:59 pm
– Cartoon Click and Clack –
Not sure if the director was high or me.
I’m only bluer when I’ve been holding my breath a long time.
October 21, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Spud…I’m going to respectfully disagree with you. You’re correct with regards to NPR management having the right to terminat Juan’s contract for his comments against Muslims on an airplane. However, NPR is severely lacking in consistency when they did not fire Nina Totenberg for her comments regarding Jesse Helms & his grandchildren getting AIDS.
NPR…where is the consistency in your approach? It’s okay for one of your commentators/reports to wish AIDS on a US Senator and his grandchildren yet another commentator makes a comment about Muslims on an airplane and he gets fired?
Personal opinions are only tolerated at NPR if it’s the “right kind” of opinion.
October 21, 2010 at 8:20 pm
“Personal opinions are only tolerated at NPR if it’s the “right kind” of opinion.”
He shoots, he scores. Boom goes they dynamite!
October 21, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Personal opinions are only tolerated at NPR if it’s the “right kind” of opinion.
I’m not saying the above is true but even if it is true it doesn’t invalidate anything I wrote. I never talked about consistency or inconsistency. I only said:
a) NPR can determine what it will tolerate and what it won’t.
b) This isn’t a Freedom of Speech issue.
Both are true and neither is in conflict with the idea that NPR is being two faced in how it decides who to fire and who to keep. So while you’re point is worth noting, it doesn’t invalidate what I wrote. You aren’t making a straw man argument, but you are arguing a point I never discussed and which doesn’t affect what I wrote.
October 22, 2010 at 1:23 am
I personally wouldn’t be as upset with NPR if they did not receive federal funding.
October 22, 2010 at 4:07 pm
I wouldn’t take away their federal funding because of this, unless the funding came with a strict string attached that they knew full-well about ahead of time.
I would take away all federal monies from public broadcasting because the feds should stay out of this… and I believe PBS/NPR should be able to survive just fine without it… probably better. Many states also support public broadcasting either through direct funding or by tax credits. Each state should choose for itself.
October 22, 2010 at 4:31 pm
fact or fiction anything can be spouted from the pie holes at fox. and whats pathetic its viewers believe it all.