BF2S Forums NPR analyst fired over Muslim comment

FEOS wrote:

ghettoperson wrote:

FEOS wrote:

NPR is being NPR. It's not surprising. It's not right, either.

Had he made the remark on his NPR show, then NPR might have had justification. I still would've disagreed, but the pseudo-legal foundation would've been there. He wasn't on NPR. He was on Fox. It was upmto Fox to terminate his contract with them if they had an issue with what he said.

But wouldn't he technically be on Fox as an NPR representative? So they'd probably have just as much justification to fire him as on their own show. Not that I think that he should have necessarily been fired.

No. Two separate jobs/contracts. He's on Fox as a Fox contributor. He's on NPR as an NPR contributor. He's not representing NPR on Fox and he's not representing Fox on NPR.

Ah right, I didn't realise he worked for Fox, I thought they just had him on for a quick comment/interview.

Cybargs wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Cybargs wrote:

when i flew to the US few weeks ago a flight from dubai arrived at the same time... immigration was a bitch.

Statistics don't lie...

thank god i had an aussie passport with a jew last name.

lol...  indeed.

He was an at-will employee. They could've fired him for wearing the wrong colored tie. Shit happens.

FEOS wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:

He was an at-will employee. They could've fired him for wearing the wrong colored tie. Shit happens.

Then why didn't they? Would've made more sense than this, from a PR perspective.

No way. This is solid gold. They get to poke Fox with a stick, which their fan base ravenously hates.

Ticia wrote:

mikkel wrote:

FEOS wrote:

NPR is being NPR. It's not surprising. It's not right, either.

Had he made the remark on his NPR show, then NPR might have had justification. I still would've disagreed, but the pseudo-legal foundation would've been there. He wasn't on NPR. He was on Fox. It was upmto Fox to terminate his contract with them if they had an issue with what he said.

I don't think you can really extend that sort of rationale to the world of broadcasting. Broadcasters live and die by the images and associations they maintain. If an employee makes public statements that are at odds with these images and associations, then the broadcaster has a problem, and firing that employee is one of the possible solutions.

Of course it isn't ideal that he can't speak his mind in public, but I think it's implied that when people accept positions to be part of the face of a company, statements of this nature may have a negative impact on their employment situation.

This.


How dare an employee be held accountable for rhetoric that does not fall in line with the image a company would like to uphold?

You know, Bill, I'm not a racist...but I will now make a blatantly racist remark

Well, honestly, a lot of Americans share his sentiment, and for good reason.

There's a difference between racism and prejudice.  We all have prejudice, and some of it is understandable.

Ticia wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Ticia wrote:

This.


How dare an employee be held accountable for rhetoric that does not fall in line with the image a company would like to uphold?

You know, Bill, I'm not a racist...but I will now make a blatantly racist remark

Well, honestly, a lot of Americans share his sentiment, and for good reason.

There's a difference between racism and prejudice.  We all have prejudice, and some of it is understandable.

So what? Is still bigotry. Don't say I'm not a bigot, then

I guess we define bigotry differently then.  Either that, or I guess we have to say that nearly everyone is a bigot in some way.

I like what newbie posted earlier in the thread.  He showed that we can have some irrational feelings toward a group whether we like it or not sometimes.

For example, if a black person grew up in a town where most of the white people mistreated him, he would naturally feel a certain way toward white people.  He'd probably try to be fair about things, but he'd still likely get "nervous" around white people.  Does that make him racist?  Not in my opinion.  Does that make him prejudiced?  Yes, but it's understandable given his experiences.

Turquoise wrote:

Ticia wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Well, honestly, a lot of Americans share his sentiment, and for good reason.

There's a difference between racism and prejudice.  We all have prejudice, and some of it is understandable.

So what? Is still bigotry. Don't say I'm not a bigot, then

I guess we define bigotry differently then.  Either that, or I guess we have to say that nearly everyone is a bigot in some way.

I like what newbie posted earlier in the thread.  He showed that we can have some irrational feelings toward a group whether we like it or not sometimes.

For example, if a black person grew up in a town where most of the white people mistreated him, he would naturally feel a certain way toward white people.  He'd probably try to be fair about things, but he'd still likely get "nervous" around white people.  Does that make him racist?  Not in my opinion.  Does that make him prejudiced?  Yes, but it's understandable given his experiences.

ghettoperson wrote:

Ah right, I didn't realise he worked for Fox, I thought they just had him on for a quick comment/interview.

He works for them now.  The gave him a 2 mil 3 year deal.

mikkel wrote:

FEOS wrote:

mikkel wrote:

I don't really think you can argue that first amendment protections extend to employer/employee relationships in this manner.

No, it doesn't. But can you be fired by your employer for something you said when you weren't acting as an employee? That's the crux of the issue. He was fired by NPR for voicing his opinion on Fox. Not as a representative of NPR, but as a Fox employee.

FFS, even military members can voice their opinion, so long as they caveat it as such.

Let's be honest, here. Any organisation, particularly politically contentious ones, will be judged by the words and actions of their representatives regardless of the capacity in which they were speaking or acting. These representatives aren't hired at random; they're chosen because who they are and what they believe in is thought to harmonise with the companies they represent, and if their actions contradict the basis on which they were hired, it isn't really all that incredible that their future employment will be brought up for consideration. That's how all employment works.

NPR is supposed to be a journalistic organization. Beliefs aren't supposed to come into play.

Oh...and it receives federal funding.

Ticia wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Ticia wrote:

So what? Is still bigotry. Don't say I'm not a bigot, then

I guess we define bigotry differently then.  Either that, or I guess we have to say that nearly everyone is a bigot in some way.

I like what newbie posted earlier in the thread.  He showed that we can have some irrational feelings toward a group whether we like it or not sometimes.

For example, if a black person grew up in a town where most of the white people mistreated him, he would naturally feel a certain way toward white people.  He'd probably try to be fair about things, but he'd still likely get "nervous" around white people.  Does that make him racist?  Not in my opinion.  Does that make him prejudiced?  Yes, but it's understandable given his experiences.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyBcHUe4WeQ

I prefer the Offspring's version of the song.

npr has always been pissed people go to fox to listen to juan.  nobody cares for npr.  although this situation may increase their audience from 10 to 14 people.

DBBrinson1 wrote:

What, you waiting for another airplane before you make up your mind then?  I am glad you said western media.  Cause I'm pretty sure Bush went out of his way to say Islam isn't the enemy.

I'm glad you only considered his empty words and not his actions.

oug wrote:

DBBrinson1 wrote:

What, you waiting for another airplane before you make up your mind then?  I am glad you said western media.  Cause I'm pretty sure Bush went out of his way to say Islam isn't the enemy.

I'm glad you only considered his empty words and not his actions.

I must've missed that attack on Mecca. When did that happen? Got a link?