Op-Ed: You're Either a Team Player or You're Not

A news organization works like a sailboat. Its employees—from journalists to editors—write, report and edit, contributing to the operation’s smooth sailing. The intricate procedures within the collective operation all fall under the common umbrella of the organization’s standards and ethics. And these are clearly understood by every member, as the direction of the boat has long been established.

But what happens when one particular sailor whips out a pair of oars and starts paddling like hell in the opposite direction?

Such is the case of NPR veteran Juan Williams, who was recently fired for a controversial comment he made on the Fox News program, The O’Reilly Factor. Williams, who has been a Fox News contributor since 1997, admitted to the notoriously conservative host that he gets “worried and nervous” when he sees people in Muslim-garb on an airplane.

Those who are quick to criticize NPR’s decision should think twice, as his anti-Muslim comment was not the sole reason behind the organization’s seemingly swift termination of his contract. This event was actually the last draw. For example, Williams said last year on Fox that Michelle Obama has “got this ‘Stokely Carmichael in a dress’ thing going,” alluding to a leader of the black power movement of the 1960s.

One should not mistaken this NPR-Williams affair to be an issue of First Amendment rights of a matter of censorship. It was a matter of compatibility—or lack thereof.

Yes, journalists are people, too. They are entitled to their own judgment, values, opinions and prejudices. At the same time, journalists differ from everyday citizens because their values reflect not only their own but those of their news organizations. When these ideologies conflict in direction with that of the collective operation, it’s not necessarily taboo nor is it the end of a career. It’s a matter of conflict of interest, a conflict in direction. It’s just time to find a new boat.

Which is exactly what Williams did. He accepted a lucrative 3-year contract with Fox News immediately after his ties with NPR were cut.

This incident is not unique in the least. Earlier this month, Rick Sanchez made a controversial comment on a radio show, calling Jon Stewart a “bigot” and saying that Jewish people run CNN and all the other networks. He was subsequently fired from CNN. Octavia Nasr, a then-CNN senior editor for middle-east affairs, was fired for sending out a tweet that expressed reverence for a former leader of Hezbollah, an organization that the U.S. government designated as a terrorist group.

Yes, these statements may not have been politically correct, but that was not the primary reason for these journalists’ termination from their positions.

The success of news organizations largely derives from the trust and support from its readership. That readership is, more often than not, those whose values and political affinities match those of the publication. So when one member puts the entire operation in jeopardy with a comment that is out of line with the organization’s trusted and established standards, it’s a sensible move to let him or her go.

It may be a different story if the crew, as a democratic body, decides to shift gears and change directions. As long as that isn’t the case, however, the boat must keep on sailing towards its pre-established destination, even if the extraneous few must be left behind.