User:Mary Ash/My sandbox

Juan Williams was born April 10, 1954 in Colon, Pennsylvania, USA. He is married to Susan Delise and he is the father of two children. Williams moved to Brooklyn, New York, USA, in 1958 and later graduated from Haverford College where he received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in philosophy in 1976.

He went onto to work at The Washington Post where during his 30 year career he worked as an editorial writer, op-ed columnist and White House correspondent.

Williams reached nationwide fame after his firing from National Public Radio (NPR) after comments he made on a Fox News television show that lead to his firing on October 20, 2010.

"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 Monday.

"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." said Williams during a broadcast of the O'Reilly Factor at Fox News.

After his firing from NPR, Williams was offered a "expanded role" at Fox News. Williams had served as a commentator for the network before his firing from NPR.

Response

NPR CEO Vivian Schiller stood her ground Thursday: "As a reporter, as a host, as a news analyst, you do not comment on stories."

She said such restraint is a vital part of NPR's code of ethics, which states that news staffers cannot say things in other public forums that they could not say on NPR's airwaves as well.

"Certainly you have opinions — all human beings have their personal opinions," Schiller said. "But it is the ideal of journalism that we strive for objectivity so we can best present the positions of people around all parts of the debate to our public so the public can make their own decisions about these issues."

Schiller had her own verbal miscue Thursday. In an address to the Atlanta Press Club, she said perhaps Williams would have been better served confiding his thoughts to his psychiatrist or his publicist — a flip line for which she later apologized."

Most of the media did not condone Williams firing by NPR.

On the political front Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee have both suggested federal funding be withdrawn from NPR.

Williams is an Emmy Award winner for his television documentary writing.

References

• The Internet Movie Database
• Fox News Gives Juan Williams $2 Million Contract
• Fires Juan Williams; Fox News Expands His Role
• Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee defend Juan Williams after NPR firing, call to slash NPR funds