Censorship raised its ugly head at National Public Radio (NPR) recently when the taxpayer-supported radio network fired veteran journalist Juan Williams for expressing a politically incorrect opinion about people wearing "Muslim garb" at airports.
"NPR fired me for telling the truth," Williams said. "The truth is that I worry when I'm getting on an airplane and see people dressed in garb that identifies them first and foremost as Muslims." Me too, Juan, but it's quite alarming when a political commentator can be fired for expressing an unpopular, or politically incorrect, opinion.
In a feeble attempt to explain her decision to fire Williams, NPR President Vivian Schiller tried to draw a dubious distinction between news analysts and commentators. After suggesting that Williams should see a psychiatrist (for which she later apologized), she said the award-winning African-American news analyst had violated NPR policy by expressing a personal opinion. However, many respected journalists from across the political spectrum criticized Schiller for maintaining an obvious double standard at NPR.
Williams was allegedly fired for expressing nervousness about Muslims at airports, but longtime NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg frequently offers her very liberal opinions - such as her strong dislike of conservative Supreme Court justices John Roberts, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas - in her reports on the federal courts. But as far as I know, she has never been called on the carpet at NPR.
The real reason for Williams' firing was that he also works for Fox News, which is a right-wing anathema at left-leaning NPR. In other words, personal opinions are fine at NPR as long as they toe the party line. At Fox, Williams, a political moderate, often challenges ultra-conservative blowhards Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly, who recently clashed with two politically correct "The View" hosts for identifying the 9/11 mass murderers as "Muslim terrorists," which they were.
Although NPR receives "only" $3.3 million from taxpayers each year - less than two percent of its overall budget - I don't think we should continue to subsidize a network that demonstrates such obvious political bias. And Congress should also take a close look at the $420 million it spends on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which operates NPR and public television (PBS).
As for me, I'd like to thank the Nevada Appeal editors and publishers who have tolerated my opinions on state and local issues over the past 14 years, even when they've disagreed with me. It's a sad day for American journalism and the First Amendment whenever media moguls censor the opinions of their commentators, as NPR did in the Williams fiasco.
• Guy W. Farmer, of Carson City, has spent nearly 50 years in and around journalism.