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Nan Fang Daily, People's Republic of China

U.S. Shows Us, Free Speech is 'Easier said than Done'

 

While the United States often preaches to others about free expression, does it always live up to its own ideals? According to this analysis from China's state-run Nan Fang Daily, the recent controversy involving commentator Juan Williams and broadcaster National Public Radio exposes the difficulty of making sure that free speech remains free.

 

By Xue Yong [薛涌]

 

Translated by Sarah Chan

 

February 9, 2011

 

People's Republic of China - Nan Fang Daily - Original Article (Chinese)

NPR President Vivian Schiller: Rarely seen or heard of on the airwaves, her decision to fire commentator Juan Williams made huge waves, some of which have reached all the way to China's state-run press.

 

RUSSIA TODAY VIDEO: Russia's U.S.-based broadcaster takes a look at NPR's firing of Williams, Oct. 21, 00:06:19RealVideo

Last month, Vivian Schiller, president of National Public Radio (NPR), did not receive her 2010 year-end bonus, and the broadcaster's vice president, Ellen Weiss, was forced to resign. This marked the beginning of the end of a political storm that started in October 2010. Looking back at the entire affair will be of great significance to us, instructive as it is in regard to the basic rules of freedom of speech.

 

In the United States, the idea of "freedom of speech" sounds simple enough, but it's easier said than done. When there are no fundamental conflicts of values and interests, finding common ground is easy, and small differences can be tolerated. But when there are fundamental conflicts of values and interests, it is inevitable that people will do everything in their power to revoke the opposing side's right to speak.

 

NPR is a very important news organization, with greater influence than most other major television networks and newspapers. This is mainly because the United States is a car-based society, in which listening to the radio on long commutes is the best way of passing the time. In addition, American media are generally privately-owned, yet NPR enjoys a federal subsidy. Over the years, conservatives have regularly complained that NPR takes taxpayer money, but is dominated by liberal elites, with programming that has a strongly left-wing bias. Complaints about ending its federal funding have never ceased.

 

Last October, National Public Radio triggered a major dispute. The broadcaster was the first to have black political commentator Juan Williams. But as his reputation in the media grew, he became a regular guest on the station with the most conservative mindset, right-wing Fox News. The liberal leadership of NPR brooded over this. One day, while appearing on a Fox News program with one of its most right-wing hosts [watch below], Juan Williams said he got nervous when sitting on a plane next to someone wearing Muslim garb. Two days later, NPR responded with a phone call by Vice President Ellen Weiss, who fired Williams and triggered a huge U.S. media eruption.

 

 

By punishing Juan Williams for what he said, NPR had crossed the line of free speech. First of all, many people were quick to point out that Williams' comments were taken out of context. He was in fact using an introspective tone to describe his own feelings, since he immediately analyzed himself by asking, "Why do I feel this way?"

 

Moreover, many people contend that he should have the freedom to express his feelings. If feelings are expressed freely, it can lead to necessary public discussions - and what's so bad about that? However, the leadership of NPR won't budge. As president, Vivian Schiller once took a dig at Juan Williams in a speech, saying that his private feelings are matters for him and his psychiatrist, but that bringing them out into the public domain for discussion violated NPR's professional standards. Although she later apologized for her remarks, they obviously angered even more people.

 

After being fired from his job, Juan Williams' popularity skyrocketed. Fox News immediately gave him a three-year contract worth $2 million, firstly because they were made a fool by NPR, and secondly to raise their own reputation. Meanwhile, the chairman of Fox News condemned NPR executives as "Nazis." Furthermore, on Fox News, Juan Williams also attacked NPR for not being able to tolerate differing views and Republican lawmakers once again demanded that Congress terminate funding for NPR.

 

After firing Juan Williams, NPR quickly discovered the difficulty of finding another Black person in media with the same top notch reputation to take his place. That is something that the left-wing, which has always made it a mission to defend the interests of Black people, has been unable to justify.

 

Under siege on all sides, NPR's independent board of directors began to review the situation with the help of a law firm. This resulted in the resignation of Vice President Ellen Weiss, who had served NPR since 1982, and was generally believed to be in line for the presidency of the broadcaster; and although President Vivian Schiller kept her job, she lost her year-end bonus. This is how the crisis was resolved.

 

Although the crisis was a media scrum over public opinion between liberals and conservatives, in the end, both sides had to go back to the basic rules of freedom of expression. American media have a very strong tradition: newspapers hire columnists and radio and TV stations employ professional commentators. These people generally have strong personal opinions, and if their personal views differ from those of their employers, the employers have no right to interfere. Once they do, it is tantamount to a scandal, and is subjected to attacks from all sides. In this way, opinion leaders have nothing to fear when expressing their views because free speech is guaranteed. Readers and audiences can believe that such people's opinions are their own, rather than those of whoever employs them.   

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

Unfortunately, over the past ten years, with the polarization of American politics, media has followed suit. Left and right sides are subject to the temptation of imposing their own ideology on others, and the behavior of commentators frequently crosses the line. The NPR crisis is just one example. But in the end, there is always a judge to catch those who cross the line and break the rules. These cannot be broken.

 

CLICK HERE FOR CHINESE VERSION

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US February 12, 9:45pm]

 







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