Regrets? NPR Boss Has a Few

Vivian Schiller, president and CEO of NPR, just can’t shake off the fallout from the firing of Juan Williams. After a speech she gave at the National Press Club on Monday, the first question Schiller faced was about Williams, who was fired in October for remarks he made on Fox News Channel.

“We handled the situation badly. We acted too hastily, and we made some mistakes,” said Schiller.

Hoping to prevent incidents like the Williams firing and its attendant controversy in the future, NPR is thinking about prohibiting its staffers from having long-term relationships or contracts with other news organizations, as Williams did with Fox News.

That could be a problem for current NPR mainstays like Mara Liasson—who, like Williams, is a contributor to Fox News—and Cokie Roberts, who also works for ABC News.

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