Some History on Juan Williams

Juan Williams was fired by NPR for his xenophobic comments about Muslims on Fox News. The question I have is why is Williams still working in the media. Williams got into trouble at the Washington Post in 1991 for sexual harassment.

For many journalists, the crystallizing moment was the revelation that Washington Post writer Juan Williams, one of Thomas' most ardent defenders, was himself an alleged harasser. The Post had printed a Williams column minimizing the gravity of the charges against Thomas without disclosing that Williams had been accused of verbally abusing female staff members over a period of at least four years. Post management also initially held back the paper's media writer, Howard Kurtz, from reporting on the angry reaction among Post staff members. It wasn't until WRC-TV, a local NBC affiliate, broke the story that the Post mentioned the controversy in its pages. And only after a protest by 116 newsroom employees did the paper concede that the charges against Williams were founded. Unlike most incidents of sexual harassment in newsrooms, the Williams case was widely reported, largely because of its intersection with the Thomas hearings and the conflict-of-interest question it raised.

Why does Williams still have a job. Williams burned his bridges big time at the Washington Post. Do you think you would have two major paid gigs in your line of work if 116 of your fellow employees protested against you? For that matter why is Bill O'Reilly still working at Fox News after his highly-publicized sexual harassment of his producer. The standards of journalism have sank so low that former Morning Zoo shock jock Glenn Beck can get on the television airwaves.