Juan Williams used to be one of the most intelligent, thoughtful and entertaining of NPR's many fine commentators. But then something in his life, outlook, or perhaps his bank account changed.
In the 90s he punctuated his print journalism work with appearances on news talk shows. He hosted CNN's Crossfire for a bit and appeared on other talk shows such as the Capitol Gang and the McLaughlin Group. On these shows one doesn't really have to know a lot, one merely has to opine with style and/or attitude. It is television after all.
Collecting a more than ample paycheck for sitting around on camera and shooting the shit can easily become habit forming. So it was that Mr Williams found a home as a guest on Fox's O'Reilly Factor where he could effortlessly spout mildly pro-conservative snark and bank News Corp lucre.
True, Mr. Williams is often a voice for reason and sanity amidst Fox/O'Reilly unreason and insanity. One could, I suppose, see him as doing missionary work. But it is highly doubtful that Mr Williams' various defenses of civilization gentled, changed or even got through to the Fox red meat crowd. People who view Fox, to quote musician Steve Miller, tend to "know exactly what the facts is" and especially don't cotton to some National Public Radio liberal trying to set them straight.
For Fox, Mr Williams' NPR affiliation was the gold standard. National Public Radio is a real news outlet. NPR reporters & producers actually check the factual content of stories. The NPR reporter is trained to see that the story he or she is working on has a connection to a wider world. Hence, using specific, verifiable facts, they craft the story to bring out that wider world connection. While NPR is accused of having a "liberal agenda" what it actually has is a deep respect for the liberal arts. The view at NPR has always been that culture itself is a news story well worth covering. Fox News on the other hand, despite its "fair and balanced" motto, has been continuously caught out manipulating stories and airing reports containing outright untruths. So when Juan Williams of NPR appears on a Fox News show, it comes across as a subtle NPR endorsement. It is as if NPR were whispering that Fox really is OK.
Certainly the management at NPR has long been concerned about the need of its on air staffers to collect Washington cost of living checks through appearing on other more strident shows and networks. If only NPR could write checks with as many zeroes behind the lead number as News Corp so casually does, one might never have heard of Mr. Williams' fear of traveling with folk in Muslim dress.