Juan Williams is having a “bad-news/good-news” week. First he gets fired from NPR and now Fox is extending his contract for three years for $2 million.
He will have an expanded role on the network and will write a column for FoxNews.com.
Fox News president Roger Ailes tweaked NPR by saying:
“Juan has been a staunch defender of liberal viewpoints since his tenure began at Fox News in 1997… an honest man whose freedom of speech is protected by Fox News on a daily basis.”
Williams was fired after Monday’s “O’Reilly Factor” when he said that he gets nervous when he sees Muslims on planes.
NPR President Vivian Schiller also spoke about the controversy on Thursday, saying that Williams’ Fox News comments had violated her network’s ethical and journalistic standards and made his firing a necessity.
Williams added today that he said exactly what he intended to say and is not backing away from the controversy.