On Sunday’s MediaBuzz, Fox News contributor Juan Williams joined the liberal media in celebrating Univision anchor Jorge Ramos after his confrontation with Donald Trump.
The former NPR correspondent argued “Jorge Ramos is no reporter. So, let’s not equate him with a reporter. He is the Walter Cronkite of Spanish language media in this country. He is the star journalist and he has a certain weight on issues of immigration specifically when he says that to his community this amounts to racism, discrimination, and oppression.”
Williams seemed to take his cues from the “Big Three” (ABC, CBS, and NBC) networks who rushed to Ramos’ defense after he repeatedly lectured Donald Trump over his immigration views last week, and parroted NBC reporter Peter Alexander when he invoked Walter Cronkite as well.
Despite Juan Williams' decision to protect Ramos from criticism, Republican commentator Mercedes Schlapp rejected the notion that the Univision anchor was an honest journalist:
It is very clear that Jorge Ramos when he gets on air, it is very much an opinion on where he stands on immigration and like Howie said, I mean, he went on a tirade with Trump. And he's made it a point that he basically says on issues of racial discrimination, he believes that journalism should have a point of view and they should be very vocal about it.
Williams continued to provide cover for Ramos and admitted he had no problem with Ramos acting as an advocate on the issue of immigration rather than an actual journalist, and went so far as to invoke Fox News’ primetime lineup for comparison:
I don’t understand why that's a problem. My colleagues here at Fox News often times especially our prime time anchors have a point of view and I've seen them interview President Obama and be insistent, interrupting and make their point.
The Washington Examiner’s Susan Ferrechio eventually corrected Williams and explained that unlike Ramos, Fox News’ primetime lineup doesn't claim to be straight news reporters and thus are not held to the same standards as the Univision anchor:
I don't think Sean Hannity he is the host of a TV show—he's not sitting in the audience of a press conference asking questions the way Jorge Ramos was and he was also interrupting, Jorge Ramos, other reporters --
See relevant transcript below.
Fox News’ MediaBuzz
August 30, 2015
HOWARD KURTZ: There’s a difference between shouting at presidents when they are walking to the helicopter or it's kind of a scrum, but you’re having a news conference where somebody is calling this one and that one and then you jump in and then you don't stop talking, and then you're not really asking a question but you’re kind of lecturing the candidate. That doesn't upset you?
JUAN WILLIAMS: Let me just say first of all, Jorge Ramos is no reporter. So, let’s not equate him with a reporter. He is the Walter Cronkite of Spanish language media in this country. He is the star journalist and he has a certain weight on issues of immigration specifically when he says that to his community this amounts to racism, discrimination, and oppression.
MERCEDES SCHLAPP: But Juan, he jumps in there all the time and really what they do on Univision is advocacy journalism. It is very clear that Jorge Ramos when he gets on air, it is very much an opinion on where he stands on immigration and like Howie said, I mean, he went on a tirade with Trump. And he's made it a point that he basically says on issues of racial discrimination, he believes that journalism should have a point of view and they should be very vocal about it.
WILLIAMS: I don’t understand why that's a problem. My colleagues here at Fox News often times especially our prime time anchors have a point of view and I've seen them interview President Obama and be insistent, interrupting and make their point.
SUSAN FERRECHIO: That’s different. I don't think Sean Hannity he is the host of a TV show—
KURTZ: He’s an opinion journalist.
FERRECHIO: he's not sitting in the audience of a press conference asking questions the way Jorge Ramos was and he was also interrupting, Jorge Ramos, other reporters --
