On Thursday, National Public Radio’s Alicia Shepard (at right) defended the firing of Juan Williams by claiming on the NPR website:
Even though NPR handled this situation badly, the fact remains that NPR must uphold its journalistic standards, which, after all, provide the basis that earned public radio's reputation for quality.
Shepard described the unprecedented outpouring of outrage at NPR at the firing but also ballyhooed “hundreds” of listener requests to fire or discipline Williams. She quoted exactly one:
