Juan Williams

Based solely off the evidence that has been released I would not have fired Juan Williams for his comments made on Fox News. However, if my organization was liberal leaning I can see the conflict of interest NPR raises. I believe a short suspension and a public apology to anyone offended would have sufficed as fair punishment but firing is a little extreme. I do not listen to NPR that often -- so this may have already been a story -- but I think this was a perfect opportunity to expose an untapped topic that many Americans feel strongly about. Having Juan explain his position a little more and going out and doing a report on the topic would have been a nice follow up to the public apology.

I believe an analyst is somebody who delivers the facts, all of them, that provide two or maybe three sides to the story and let the viewer draw their own conclusion. A commentator has chosen one of those sides and now gives some facts but more inferences and opinions of why they feel that way. An analyst should never be proven wrong, a commentator can. That is the difference.

The rules have changed today because we are living in an ultra-sensitive politically correct era. I can't explain how the past used to be but presently any public speaker needs to think out every response they say, especially on topics that are known to raise emotions. The problem is now-a-days everything can can be clipped and edited for a biased person to make a point. Someone on television needs to choose their words carefully in order to avoid public ridicule.

As the commentator I would have not brought up this topic at all, I would have provided another example or just reworded the point in a different way.