Former NPR journalist Williams says honest debate "essential" to the nation's future

Former NPR and current Fox News commentator Juan Williams told a National Press Club luncheon audience May 26 that he had attended many events in the Club's ballroom but "I never thought I would be the speaker."

Williams became a news story seven months ago when he was fired by NPR for expressing discomfort at seeing persons in Muslim garb boarding an airplane with him. His comments caused a firestorm of controversy and Williams said he was shocked by the attention given his dismissal. In spite of years of exposure on television and radio, " I was fairly anonymous before this happened."

Williams blamed political correctness for his firing and said he has never had second thoughts about comments he made to Bill O'Reilly of The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News that led to his NPR dismissal. "They were honest and heart-felt comments."

He lamented the political and journalistic climate that encourages provocative discourse from the left and right to the detriment of reasonable debate. He said he has been "stunned" by the number of people who have told him that they are fearful of discussing sensitive issues because their comments might be misconstrued as racist or bigoted or otherwise insensitive. "To be in the middle is to have no voice," he said, citing radical media and political discourse.

As examples of the failure of rational discussion on sensitive issues Williams cited the Obama administration's reluctance to call those who commit terrorist acts "terrorists" and the demise of immigration reform efforts due to opposition from opponents who label it as "amnesty." He said the controversy over his NPR firing "was never about me" but rather about the country's ability to have the kind of honest debate that is "essential to our future as an American people."

The former Washington Post columnist said he was fired after a decade at NPR without being given a chance to give his side of the story to Ellen Weiss, its vice president for news. In answer to a question, Williams said he had no sympathy for Weiss, who was fired for her handling of the Williams affair, because she tarnished the NPR brand. He said he supports the withdrawal of public funding for NPR because it is a minor part of its budget and makes it a political football.

Williams, who has written a book titled "Muzzled, the Assault on Honest Debate" stemming from his NPR experience, noted that cable television has magnified the trend toward confrontational debate because of its format and need to attract an audience. But he said legitimate debate is still possible on what he called "personality-driven programs."

In answer to questions from the NPC audience, Williams said diversity in the news business has a mixed record. While women are doing well, he said minorities are still under represented, a problem exasperated by newsroom budget cuts. Asked whether he preferred work in print, radio or television, he said "for in-depth information, nothing beats a good newspaper." Although he does not think Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, could win the GOP presidential nomination, he said "we are living in the age of Ron Paul." He called Paul a "power player below the screen" for his support of such Libertarian ideas as legalizing drugs, withdrawing from foreign entanglements and reining in the Federal Reserve.