NPR Fires Employee of 10 Years Over Controversial Statement

National Public Radio (NPR) fired Juan Williams on Wednesday following some controversial comments Williams made about Muslims on The O'Reilly Factor on Monday night.

Williams appeared on The O'Reilly Factor to weight-in on a debate about the fears some Americans may have towards average Muslims following the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country," 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."

Williams went on to say that despite this initial reaction, it is vital that Americans recognize that the attacks of 9/11 were committed by extremists.

Click here to watch the debate.

NPR CEO Vivian Schiller issued a formal statement on Wednesday acknowledging the termination of William's contract.

"Juan has been a valuable contributor to NPR and public radio for many years and we did not make this decision lightly or without regret. However, his remarks on 'The O'Reilly Factor' this past Monday were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR," she said.

Schiller spoke at an Atlanta Press Club meeting today, telling the audience that Williams should have kept his feelings about Muslims between himself and "his psychiatrist or his publicist."

Dozens of news outlets are weighing-in over NPR's decision to fire Williams, including the Washington Post, ABC News, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee issued a statement calling for federal funding cuts for NPR.

"While I have often enjoyed appearing on NPR programs and have been treated fairly and objectively, I will no longer accept interview requests from NPR as long as they are going to practice a form of censorship, and since NPR is funded with public funds, it IS a form of censorship. It is time for the taxpayers to start making cuts to federal spending, and I encourage the new Congress to start with NPR," Huckabee said.

For more coverage on this developing story, click here.

Northwest Public Radio SoundSlide

By Amanda Craven and Erica Magat

New NPR Initiative Turns Local Journalists Into Government Watchdogs

National Public Radio (NPR) announced a new journalism initiative today that aims to encourage comprehensive assessments of governmental impact on local communities.

The initiative, called Impact on Government, recently received a $1.8 million grant from the Open Society Foundations (OSF). OSF is a privately owned foundation that works with local education, public health, and independent media representatives to implement initiatives that seek to advance justice and ensure government accountability.

“This initiative will provide the public not just with information, but with the context they need to hold local governments to a higher level of accountability,” said NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller in a press release today. “Our network provides a perfect vehicle for cross-state, cross-region and national analysis of the most critical issues facing our country."

Eight states will participate in this year-long study that kicks off March 2011. NPR is encouraging member stations to submit applications to join the initiative with the hope that all 50 states will eventually adopt the program.

Ann Beeson, the executive director of U.S. Programs at OSF, said in the release today that “a strong democracy requires a diverse, independent, and highly functioning watchdog press to help people hold the government and private sector accountable. The dramatic decline in news coverage at the state level has left millions of people significantly less informed about what is happening in their own backyards. We are confident that NPR, its member stations and partners can help fill that void with much needed in-depth and analytical reporting for communities of every size in every corner of the country.”

Impact of Government will focus on governmental issues and decisions that have the greatest impact on the public. The initiative aims to incorporate a wide range of public radio stations that will develop focused news coverage critical to their particular region. NPR will work as a home base, providing editorial, technical, and collaborative assistance for associated channels and helping individual stations to develop their own unique approach.