Whether you agree or disagree with NPR’s dismissal of Juan Williams, how they dismissed him has all of the makings of a public relations disaster, and one that could have been avoided.  Fox now can point at NPR accusing them of censorship and trampling freedom of speech.

It always seemed like an unlikely marriage to have an NPR commentator so visible on Fox.  The two media companies are diametrically opposed when it comes to most topics.  It was interesting to watch Williams try to do the tightrope walk between the two, but it never seemed as though it would last that long.  Now, suddenly, it’s over.

Financially Juan Williams is just fine.  On Thursday Fox news awarded Williams a new multiyear contract worth nearly million.  He will now have an expanded role on the cable news channel and its Web site.  Two million dollars is more than most NPR stations bring in and considering that this media flap came just as many NPR stations are holding their fund drives, this does not bode well.  Many listeners both on the right and the left are angered by what they see as a knee-jerk reaction on the part of NPR.

Perhaps they were waiting for a chance to dismiss him, since NPR has apparently taken issue with many of his appearances on Fox for awhile.  Still, they could have waited for his contact to expire, or could have suspended him upon review.  Williams said he is “outraged” and “brokenhearted” by NPR’s decision to dismiss him after more than a decade as a radio host, correspondent and analyst. He also stated that he stood by his comments and said they were taken out of context by NPR.

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The firestorm started with William’s appearance on the O’Reilly Factor.  While on the program, Williams said: “But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”  Later during the same interview, Williams challenged O’Reilly’s suggestion that “the Muslims attacked us on 9/11.”  William’s stated that it was wrong to generalize about Muslims in that way

According to NPR, Williams has repeatedly been told that some of his statements on Fox violate NPR’s ground rules for its news analysts. “We have made our policies clear to Juan in prior conversations and warnings, and he has continued to violate our principles,” explained Dana Davis Rehm, an NPR spokeswoman. “When an analyst states personal opinions on an issue, our feeling is they have undermined their credibility as an analyst.”

In this case it’s how and not the what that is the issue.  This media perfect storm could not have worked better if Fox’s Roger Ailes had staged it himself.  There’s a thought.  Fox could not have paid for better media coverage.  They are positioning themselves as the defenders of free speech and Williams, in his new expanded role, is getting the best branding PR campaign imaginable.  On the other hand NPR is facing a public relations nightmare.   NPR certainly has the right to dismiss Williams; but the fact that, although they are part of the media, they still so misjudged how the media would react to such a move is not only confusing, it’s bewildering.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

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