It’s not about race. It’s also not about free speech, as some have charged. Nor is it about an alleged attempt by NPR to stifle conservative views. NPR offers a broad range of viewpoints on its radio shows and web site.

Instead, this latest incident with Williams centers around a collision of values: NPR’s values emphasizing fact-based, objective journalism versus the tendency in some parts of the news media, notably Fox News, to promote only one side of the ideological spectrum.

via www.npr.org

I think the best summary of this sorry situation came from NPR’s Ombudsman (above) in which she properly characterized this as a long simmering situation and Juan’s Muslim remark as simply the last straw.

Since earlier warnings went unheeded, Williams was inviting a crackdown, and management was forced to take action.

At the heart of the matter is a key principle that centers on the First Amendment rights of NPR to be a successful, trusted news service. Williams may sue but he’ll have a hard time winning.

The larger context here would seem to be about liberal versus conservative media. That’s B.S. Fox will make as much hay of this incident as they can (indeed, they just hired Juan Williams to a $2-million contract) as supposed stalwarts of free expression, when in fact they drive a pseudo-ideology that veils a crass commercial model. NPR, meanwhile, may indeed have some liberal leanings but these are in service of an educated public and, at the end of the day, about the trust that comes from driving toward truth itself.