Fox News’ Juan Williams left NPR amid a great deal of controversy (see TMV posts here, here, here and here) — controversy that clearly reflected bitter feelings on both sides. Now it sounds as if Juan Williams is feeling some regrets. Jim Romenesko quoting an interview in Capital New York:
Fox News political analyst Juan Williams misses working for NPR “big time.”
“Because that’s such an informed and influential audience,” he told me last night at the swanky Industria Studios, a big loft and event space in the far West Village. “And the thing is that audience really liked me and I would often times help raise money for NPR.”
He could still raise money at Fox News (for the Romney campaign).
NPR and Williams both burned their bridges with each other. Williams’ comment seems like an attempt to repair his bridge.
So Romensko called NPR:
I asked NPR’s PR department if they wanted to comment on Williams’ remarks. “Thanks for the opportunity to but we’ll pass,” a spokesman said.
Not surprising.
Williams’ bridge can’t be repaired. He’ll have to enjoy his big salary at Fox News — a trade off of sorts.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.