Vivian Schiller, the president and chief executive officer of NPR – National Public Radio justified her decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams which has created a stir in the political world. Earlier it was believed Juan was fired because of his comments on “The O’Reilly Factor” in which he said he got nervous and worried when he saw Muslims in airplanes. Some others believed, his frequent appearances on Fox News were the reason why NPR was looking for an excuse to fire him.
However, according to the NPR CEO, Juan was fired neither because of his particular views of Muslims nor it had anything to do with Fox News. She said she felt sorry because this whole incident unfolded while most of the public radio stations (including WABE – FM) are in the midst of fall pledge drives. This view was also acknowledged by senior chief operating officer at WABE – FM, John Weatherford calling the Williams firing as a distraction.
Speaking on the Juan Williams sacking incident, Schiller said the ex – NPR employee was on PR as a news analyst and he had no permission or authority to express his views, which he repeatedly done on Fox News. She added he was a commentator who had no authority to express his personal opinions which he did and as a result had to lose his job. She also went on to say; whatever Juan thought about Muslims must have been between him and “his psychiatrist or publicist”.
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