Fox Hands Williams $2 Million Contract

As National Public Radio weathered a storm of criticism Thursday for its decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams for his comments about Muslims, Fox News moved aggressively to turn the controversy to its advantage by signing Williams to an expanded role at the cable news network.

According Matea Gold of the Tribune's Washington bureau, Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes handed Williams a new three-year contract Thursday morning, in a deal that amounts to nearly $2 million, a
considerable bump up from his previous salary, the Tribune Washington Bureau has learned. The Fox News contributor will now appear exclusively and more frequently on the cable news network and have a regular column on FoxNews.com.

"Juan has been a staunch defender of liberal viewpoints since his tenure began at Fox News in 1997," Ailes said in a statement, adding a jab at NPR: “He’s an honest man whose freedom of speech is protected by Fox News on a daily basis.

Read more here.

Also read

•  JUAN WILLIAMS: I Was Fired for Telling the Truth (Fox News Channel)
• Juan Williams, President Obama and the Nanny State’s Radio (Yorktown Patriot)
• NPR CEO Apologizes For 'Psychiatrist' Remark (NPR)
• NPR Ombudsman: Williams' Firing Poorly Handled (NPR)
• Public Radio vs. the Public The comment that got Juan Williams fired--and the one that didn't. (WSJ.com)
• Williams Firing Sparks Calls to Defund National Public Radio (Fox News Channel)
• Chris Wallace: NPR "Had Been After Juan For Some Time" (Broadcasting&Cable)

There was no question the first thing Bill O’Reilly addressed on his program would be the firing of Juan Williams from NPR over comments he made about Muslims on Monday’s edition of the Factor. Sure enough, O’Reilly almost immediately called the firing a “disgraceful decision,” and later brought Williams himself on to talk about it.



During a contentious interview on Fox News’ America Live, anchor Megyn Kelly interviewed Ibrahim Hooper, the communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), about NPR’s recent firing of political analyst Juan Williams for comments he made regarding Muslims.