Posted on 10/21/2010 9:58:32 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Call me lucky. I had a pre-scheduled interview this morning with NPR CEO Vivian Schiller this morning before her speech at the Atlanta Press Club Newsmakers luncheon at the 191 Club in downtown Atlanta.
So lo and behold, the entire Juan Williams firing blew up the past 24 hours. I happen to be the first person to talk to her about it. Here is an abbreviated Q&A:
Q: Okay. What happened?
A: Lets state a couple of facts. Juan is not an employee of NPR. Hes an independent contractor. Hes not NPR staff. Hes an NPR analyst. We have a contract with him for analyst opinions to provide news analysis. He is not a columnist or commentator. He also has an on-going relationship with Fox News. Mara Liasson is also on Fox News and is a full-time staffer. We accept thats a whole other issue. However, we expect our journalists, whether they are news analysts or reporters to behave like journalists.
Q: So did Juan really get fired over just those Muslim comments? [He said he was uncomfortable with Muslims dressed in traditional garb on airplanes on Fox News yesterday.]
A: There have been several instances over the last couple of years where we have felt Juan has stepped over the line. He famously said last year something about Michelle Obama and Stokely Carmichael. [The quote on Fox News last year: Michelle Obama "has this Stokely-Carmichael-in-a-designer-dress thing going" and that she'll be an "albatross" for President Obama.]. This isnt a case of one strike and youre out.
Q: So this is obviously not an isolated incident.
A: Theres so much misinformation on the blogosphere, its nuts. This has been an on-going issue. When he does that, when anybody does that, it undermines their credibility as a journalist or in Juans case, a news analyst for NPR. Those two things cannot go together.
Q: Have you done this before with other analysts or reporters?
A: Its impossible to answer that. Every circumstance is different and would create false parallels.
Q: As you mentioned, Mara Liasson appears on Fox News. Is there an issue with Fox News?
A: No. She behaves on Fox as a journalists. I have no issues with anything she has said on Fox. This is not about Fox News. Its not about a political agenda. This is not about even validating or invalidating [Williams'] feelings.
Q: Mike Huckabee is now saying NPR has discredited itself and should have federal funding revoked.
A: Yes, I heard that. This has become a political issue. My God, Im shocked!
Q: Could NPR live without federal funding?
A: Lets go on a sidebar. Theres a misperception about federal funding and public radio. Theres the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They receive $90 million a year and a vast majority goes to member public radio stations. Those stations pull in more than $1 billion collectively a year. Its significant and important but not even close to the lions share of revenues for public radio. NPR gets no allocation from CPB. Zero. We are a private 501(c)3. Weve had journalists call up and ask what department of the government we report to. Thats laughable. Have you listened to our shows? We do apply for competitive grants from the likes of the Ford Foundation and the Knight Foundation. As a result, some money from CPB does come to us when we win grants. Depending on the year, it represents just one to three percent of our total budget.
Q: What is your annual budget?
A: $160 million a year from station fees and dues, corporate underwriting, philanthropic contributions from individuals and corporation and earned income and earnings from our endowment.
Q: How healthy are you?
A: We had some issues the last couple of years and went into deficits. But weve regrouped and were back on track.
More to come. The luncheon is going to start. Ill see what else I can get from that.
NOTE: I am a board member of the Atlanta Press Club.
When your enemy is destroying himself, get out of the way!
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