NPR executive who fired Juan Williams resigns from her job

One executive at NPR has stepped down and another got her bonus cut over the dismissal of news analyst Juan Williams.

NPR chief executive Vivian Schiller has been docked her 2010 bonus because of her role in Williams’s firing, which set off a firestorm of controversy and fueled GOP cries to defund the news outlet.

The outlet also announced that Ellen Weiss, who fired Williams, has resigned. Weiss was the senior vice president for news.

NPR announced Thursday that chief executive Vivian Schiller will not receive a bonus due to “concern over her role in the termination process.” 

NPR’s board gave Schiller the green light to continue as chief executive.

“The board has expressed confidence in Vivian Schiller’s leadership going forward. She accepted responsibility as CEO and cooperated fully with the review process,” the announcement said. 

NPR said it had completed its review of Williams’s termination, finding the decision to fire him legal. Williams was fired after saying on Fox News that he is nervous when he sees passengers in Muslim garb on planes.

On Fox after the news broke, Williams lauded the resignation of the “keeper of the flame of liberal orthodoxy” at NPR, calling the station an “ingrown, incestuous culture” that is not open to different points of view.

“I think what I crossed was her politically correct line in the sand,” Williams said of Weiss.

Critics, including many prominent House Republicans, saw the dismissal as aggressive political correctness and an attempt to silence free speech. 

The review concluded with a number of recommendations, including the creation of a new committee to continually review the outlet’s ethics pledge. 

NPR contacted Williams, who has since taken a larger role at Fox News, to participate in the review. He chose not to, according to NPR’s announcement.

“I think it’s good news for NPR … and people who care about news in America,” Williams said of the shake-up on Fox.

This post was updated at 3 p.m.