Yesterday evening, NBC News announced that Brian Williams would not be returning from his “several days” off in self-imposed hiatus. At least for a while. NBC News’ president Deborah Turness has put Williams on a six-month suspension without pay following the past week and a half of rolling revelations about his very public lies and “misremembering.” Many believe that NBC News is just going to use these six months to get all of their ducks in a row and look for a new permanent anchor, and that at the end of the six months, Williams will be out completely. In the meantime, Lester Holt will be filling in as the temporary anchor. Which is awesome. Lester Holt is the best. Turness released this open letter about Williams’ suspension, and here’s something interesting: NBC’s internal investigation isn’t even completed!!
We have decided today to suspend Brian Williams as Managing Editor and Anchor of NBC Nightly News for six months. The suspension will be without pay and is effective immediately. We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News.
Our review, which is being led by Richard Esposito working closely with NBCUniversal General Counsel Kim Harris, is ongoing, but I think it is important to take you through our thought process in coming to this decision.
While on Nightly News on Friday, January 30, 2015, Brian misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003. It then became clear that on other occasions Brian had done the same while telling that story in other venues. This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian’s position. In addition, we have concerns about comments that occurred outside NBC News while Brian was talking about his experiences in the field.
As Managing Editor and Anchor of Nightly News, Brian has a responsibility to be truthful and to uphold the high standards of the news division at all times.
Steve Burke, Pat Fili and I came to this decision together. We felt it would have been wrong to disregard the good work Brian has done and the special relationship he has forged with our viewers over 22 years. Millions of Americans have turned to him every day, and he has been an important and well-respected part of our organization. As I’m sure you understand, this was a very hard decision. Certainly there will be those who disagree. But we believe this suspension is the appropriate and proportionate action.
This has been a difficult time. But NBC News is bigger than this moment. You work so hard and dedicate yourselves each and every day to the important work of bringing trusted, credible news to our audience. Because of you, your loyalty, your dedication, NBC News is an organization we can – and should – all be proud of. We will get through this together.
Do you think this is the right decision? I think it would have seemed stronger if this had happened last week, you know? When the first wave of controversy hit last week, Williams should have been suspended for a few weeks to allow for an internal investigation, then once the investigation was complete, they should have just fired him. But, on the other hand, I guess NBC looks loyal to their on-air talent (except for, you know, Ann Curry) and like they were giving Williams the benefit of the doubt. But it’s pretty hardcore for Williams to be suspended without pay only a few days into the internal investigation. Williams has probably been lying about a lot more, don’t you think?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Lester Holt is the best!
Yes!
Agreed. Lester Holt is a great journalist with the potential to be in league with Walter Cronkite and I hope he permanently gets Brian’s job.
Came her to say this!
Well, considering that FOX “NEWS” is totally based on lies, it’s rich that they’re coming after him. Huffington Post is suggesting that Brian Williams and Jon Stewart trade places – me likey!
Yeah, or the lies that started this war. I fought in this war. Ironic thing is, guys like Williams get believed. A lot of women —-and some men who aren’t telegenic white guys—–don’t have that luxury.
I have to say, I’d wonder if he got really rattled by reporting in the war, but it looks like he kind of has this habit of lying to make himself look good. If you’re going to tell fibs you should make yourself the butt of the joke really obviously.
It’s a product of the blurring of the lines between being a news person and media personality. Walter Cronkite and Peter Jennings rarely if ever made the talk show circuit when they were actively anchors. Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw started to blur that line and it’s progressed to the point now where when Williams and other news people make the rounds, they are expected (by the same execs who suspended him) to be as much of an entertainer as an actor or comedian. So surprise, surprise Williams’ experience in the war has turned into a fish story over the years.
Exactly, I doubt he’ll be back because now he knows that this has damaged his career even if they do not find anything else during the investigation. I think it’s fair and yeah I am I the minority that think that yeah he lied but there are politicians, athletes and famous people who have gotten away with worse and have not received this backslash.
I get that his job is to deliver the news true and unbiased but if that’s the only standard where is the outrage for all the people that work at Fox News or Limbaugh?
I don’t hold any newscast word like God’s word so I get my news from different sources, I am disappointed because yeah I watched him to but now it will be Lester and that’s fine by me.
I think people really can’t stand his daughter and are channeling their dislike with this, just a thought
Maybe I’m oold fashioned, but I think any journalist whose ethics or integrity are proven unfit for the objective reporting of news events should not do it anymore, no matter how nice we think they are or how much we like his/her face.
There’s the issue of trust, and we, as the consuming public, should be responsible enough to not fall in love that we can’t be objective ourselves anymore. There is too much superficiality out there (I note the irony that I am posting this on a gossip site, but Celebitchy is DIFFERENT!). Williams had a good run as a newscaster, but the chickens came home to roost. Who would trust him now? Maybe he has a future as a talk show host if people like him so much.
I totally agree with both Dutch and Dhavynia – In America everyone MUST be a star and will sell their soul to get there. If Brian Williams is punished for this then Hillary Clinton should be barred from holding any office for the blatant lie about taking sniper fire while at a Bosnian airport only to have video show her grinning through a meet and greet. No one would ever laugh their way through a story about being fired on.
everyone says Fox News lies….what exactly have they lied about? Not being sarcastic, I’m truly wondering. I don’t get my news from the TV.
A recent example is their reporting of ‘no-go’ zones in England and France. Le Petit Journal, a French show, a lot like The Today Show took them to task and Fox News had to apologize repeatedly. Check for the Le Petit Journal video, if you can, it’s hilarious.
I’ll do that olly, thanks!
I cherish the time Fox News “covered” the labor demonstrations in Madison, Wisconsin one February. They claimed the protesters turned violent and they broadcast video to “prove” it…….which featured palm trees. They claimed it was a mistake, but all their mistakes benefit their particular viewpoint. They never “accidentally” make Republicans look bad, only Dems.
they ALL lie. the news feeds in the US are entertainment. you will absolutely get opinion as often as you get news. i’ve taken to getting my news from the bbc and al jazeera as there is literally no unbiased news here in america.
When Fox news applied to be a news channel in Canada, they were denied based on their admittance that they are more an entertainment station than a news station. They had to demonstrate that they were intent on meeting journalistic standards, and they could not.
It’s an absurd statement. Ignore it. Progressives that are easily manipulated believe this. Watch and gauge for yourself. It’s number one by miles for a reason. It does not push a liberal / progressive agenda and those types go insane over their platform.
This tells me there is a LOT of dirt coming out about Brian Williams. He’s a man with power, resources, access, and apparently, no moral filter, or, at least, no “I’m gonna get caught if I tell this lie in public” common sense. So how much more is out there?
exactly. stephen glass anyone?
if reporters don’t get caught the first time there’s a lot of incentive to keep the lies going.
NBC is full of drama lately. He deserve to be punished . I have a gout feeling, he will be replaced …
“Gout feeling”…there’s a drug for that, you know, ; )
Yes, I agree. There might be more that NBC knows that they’re not telling the public at this time. It can’t be just about a Iraqi story from 2003 and just a few more lies. It might be the depth of the lies and more stories as well as BW being way too controversial right now. His giving himself a few days of ‘time out’ wasn’t enough time for the scandal to die down, especially within social media. I’ve seen that there are BW memes and joke-photos making fun of his being a liar and there’s been more outings of his various lies.
Six months sounds about right. So does not paying him in those months. Why keep paying him when he’s made a laughingstock of his position at NBC News?
Maybe this is just the long goodbye.
He needs to go. I’m disgusted that NBC chose him in the first place.
He’s so cheesy, as my brother in law use to say whenever his broadcast came on screen. He’d say that guy looks like a Soap Opera actor, he’s so cheesy.
Lol
Ba buy Brian.
He’s finished.
I don’t know, this whole hiatus limbo thing seems designed to give them enough distance to look respectable while doing an investigation and sussing out the public’s feelings about him. America has a short memory. I guarantee you, part of the “investigation” will include focus groups that will help NBC determine what people’s reaction is and whether Brian is still good at making them money. He may pop up somewhere on NBC yet.
6 months is nothing in my humble opinion for a news guy who lied and mislead the public about news related events: being shot down, lying about experiences during Katrina, lying about his role as a volunteer fireman, etc. All these lies make him seem like a pathological liar. How many of us in a trusted position would still keep our jobs with ONLY a 6 months suspension.
I suspect they are going to use the 6 months to rehabilitate his image and show him getting counseling etc. NBC likes to keep their male employees around.
1000 times this! 6 months is generous, he should be fired.
One can only hope
Yup, he’s soo done.
Considering that he probably should have been fired, yes, this is more than fair. And isn’t his salary something like 10 million a year? How in the world will he & his family survive with only half of that?
Maybe his daughter Alison can get him a part on “Girls”? If not he can always apply for food stamps or unemployment. I can’t imagine trying to support my family on only 5 million dollars a year “eye roll “
lol YES NewWester, maybe he can get his butt eaten, too.
I haven’t really been following this, but when I heard about the suspension, I thought of the times I’ve seen him in cameos on shows, and I think he could actually have a decent acting career. He’s obviously been fooling us all for years. 😉
I get the feeling NBC was just giving in to external pressures for this one; if outrage hadn’t been so vocal and loud, they probably would have let him just keep doing the news. The interesting thing will be seeing what happens in 6 months – if they flat out fire him, or try to pull at Nancy Snyderman where everyone has stopped caring so they just slip him back in the news spot like nothing happened.
I agree, Kiki04. I was rolling along with the “explanation” thinking, this is good, this is fair…then the part about him forging relationships with millions of viewers made my antennae go up. They’re testing the waters. They think he’s a gold mine, and if they can get away with it, they will slide him back in. But I think his career is over whether they like it or not. As it should be.
I tend to agree. And this six months off gives him time to do a book on “his side.” Ugh.
This is exactly how I feel. It’s all about the bottom line. What was a “faux pas” with one lie last week has turned into a series of falsehoods. I was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt with the first, the second I cautiously teetered on wondering if he’d lied about actual news, figuring he was just another corrupt narcissist who wanted to show off, the type people celebrate these days. By the third, I realized this was definitely a pattern and am happy people won’t accept his lack of integrity. I’m surprised, as our culture seems to either celebrate bad behavior, support it or at least allow it to pass.
Goodnames, I agree. NBC will again base their decision to keep or let him go based on public opinion. NBC is in the business of staying in business and like most corporations, they’re ruthless. I hope people don’t let go of their anger and BW be forcefully shamed out of public life.
I do think.
I believe he should be fired and never hired again. Fibbing is one thing, everyone tells a white lie, but all out fabrication, on air, about an RPG hitting your helicopter?
just, no.
People were actually attacked, and died, in that war and every other war, and he lies about because of his delusions of grandeur.
Pathetic, nasty, little little man.
Fair, may be he should retire early and regroup himself and his “thoughts”.
One of Jon Stewart’s quotes “If everything is amplified, we hear nothing”. Applies to many, doesn’t it?
Regrouping his “thoughts” is a great idea…and therapy sounds important for delusions. He has thrown out so much moral outrage during his broadcasts over hosts of his news stories, that I stopped watching him a few years back. Ironic.
I find the snake of the story to be in the NBC basket. An a NBC team was on that helicopter with Brian – and the story was allowed to flourish for years… NBC is the problem that is submerged beneath Brian.
He is entitled to be merely human. However, I am not interested in his ideas concerning the morality/politics of others, or in his explanations about the happenings in our world. He is without a north star.
I’d just like to say that that lead picture is the most comically douchey photograph I’ve ever seen. That twisted face and smile look like they should have been animated by Pixar.
And yes, of course it’s appropriate that they clean house and do an investigation.
I know! HIs face is crooked, it’s weird.
He’s done. Williams won’t be back in 6 months, no way.
Lying about heroic military adventures is just one of those taboos that there’s no getting around. I think NBC wanted to help him save face — a payback for many years of good service — plus keep their options open should the nightly news ratings fall into the gutter in his absence.
I suppose that’s fair enough, though I would question the validity of their thinking. I just don’t see any possible way for him to return after this mess. He would always be an embarrassment.
Saving face for Brian also allows NBC to take no responsibility whatsoever, for any false broadcasting, that obviously was an in-house lie. NBC staffers were always with Williams during the events he weaved into his tall tales. This is not merely about a special snowflake.
Six months is a long time away from the nightly news, I don’t think he will be back.
His credibility is shot.
I don’t think he’ll return, ever. Tom Brokaw despises him, and although he’s not doing much on the air, Brokaw still has an office at 30 Rock and has a great deal of influence. Lester Holt is a good choice. While I’d love Jon Stewart in there, I’d hate to see his comedic talents wasted on the evening news.
I agree with all your points. Brokaw had to ratchet back his original outrage over the Williams debacle but make no mistake, Brokaw is the Walter Cronkite of NBC. He still wields influence. Williams is done.
Agree. Williams built his career on lies. A news man without credibility? I’d say they will announce his early retirement before the six months is up.
the guy has become a joke. He completely lost his credibility, which is basically the most important requirement for his job, so yes, he deserves to be put on leave and then to be fired. And yes, once a liar, always a liar.
I always look for the money – apparently Brian was good for the bottom line of NBC – but so also, is the way he is being cut off. NBC comes off looking like they have empathy. What they are not showing us is a failed news information system.
This has to be rough for his family. They’ve banked on a lot of his goodwill to further themselves, and now I wonder how that will look going forward.
Anyway, he’s probably done. You can’t just pop up 6 months from now and expect everything to be cool.
Bill O’Reilly survived a sexual harassment scandal so why can’t Brian survive this? Talk about hypocrisy.
As serious as a sexual harassment scandal is, I do think this is somehow worse, in terms of that particular business. A big part of the news business is the perceived trustworthiness of those delivering it, and his is essentially gone now.
I’m disappointed in general that any journalist would do such a thing, but also that it’s Williams- I always liked him and he had such a good sense of humor outside of his regular job. I can’t ever look at him the same way again though.
Bill’s loofah comments behind the scenes are different from Brian’s on air lies.
because O’Reilly wasn’t feeding a nation a false narrative about his ‘war stories’ on the TV. Apples to Oranges
Are you kidding? O’Reilly is not a news journalist like Brian Williams.
O’Reilly is a political commentator/pundit whose show is his commentary of what he deems noteworthy or interesting stories where he clearly voices his opinions and debates people. He *chooses* the stories he does. It’s more entertainment.
Williams on the other hand, is a news anchor journalist. His job is to report the news of the world in an unbiased manner. He does not “choose” what stories he would like to report. Also, he often goes on location to give first-hand accounts of reports. His main job is to report the facts, not his opinions on the matter.
I predict Brian will go to rehab. What better way to cleanse oneself of scandal in this day and age?
I think he should be fired and never hired again. I lived in a war zone, you don’t misremember things, but you often lose the details of events, meaning you block out certain things. It is rare to gain more detail unless you are working with a trauma specialist.
I don’t know about rehab but I do think he’ll write a book. A chance to explain his side and make some cash. Assuming people would buy it.
I thought the same thing. Maybe a drinking problem, the rehab and a book on recovery with apologies
I heard him say very recently that he doesn’t drink in case breaking news happens and he needs to be there STAT! But who knows now? He’s a known liar and could totally have been lyin’ about that too! Sheesh.
GingerCrunch, lol, so true now everything he’s said demands serious scrutiny.
Nail in the coffin for a newsman, right?
Williams’ career is now FUBAR.
I doubt he’ll ever be back at NBC.
It might seem like a harsh penalty but this is the price you must pay when you sacrifice your integrity and play your audience for fools.
I won’t lie I liked him. He shouldn’t of lied. I used to like that he could be light and funny on the other late night comedy shows. It’s a strange world though Marv Albert, David Letterman, Paula Deen, Bill O’Reilly to name a few they all have had scandals. We build them up, tear them down, they go away for awhile and then reappear with a come back. American Culture.
I think he really pissed someone off. It’s strange that all this time no one disputed the stories then all of a sudden someone blew the lid off his competent anchorman persona. I read on one website he was unbearable to work with.
Or top brass wanted to make a change with the anchor chair and decided to leak this story.
Maybe Matt Lauer. He, to put it delicately, seems to have the NBC News department by the nuts for some reason.
In all seriousness, you’re probably right – stuff like this doesn’t stay so well hidden for so long and then suddenly get revealed for no reason.
I don’t understand the power Lauer has over NBC either. I’d love to see the Williams debacle blow the lid off that entire soap opera going on at 30 Rockefeller.
I also think it’s strange that no one called him on it until now. he’s been telling this story for a decade, if it’s not true now it wasn’t true a decade ago.
I liked him as a news anchor, but I can imagine that his increasing popularity outside of the newsroom probably irked people. I always thought it was weird to see him being silly on 30 rock, when he’s supposed to be a serious journalist.
I agree, that is the really weird part about this for me, that it took so long.
Good riddance, I’ve never liked Brian Williams. He’s always seemed so fake in his persona of “I’m just a regular New Jersey guy”.
I think the reason it took so long is that most of the people who knew the truth back when this story “happened” were on the other side of the world, at war, and not privy to newscasts. It was his mistake in retelling it recently that led to them calling him out.
There was a headline on another site about Savannah Guthrie being at the top of the list as his replacement. I hope it was a joke.
I will be surprised if he comes back after the suspension.
His credibility is shot to hell. Stick a fork in him, he’s done.
strongly reminded me of Hilary lying about the sniper attack.
Is it possible that NBC could reassign him to a minor almost nonexistent role in the news organization just as NBC did with Ann Curry? Then after a year or two, he can find a gig on another network? It’s possible. His career should be over, but since he made so much money for NBC, there might be other networks out there willing to hire him to be a talk show host or talking head. Williams will be desperate for any work he can get to maintain his family’s lavish lifestyle.
Gone Boy. Really, that’s as it should be. I seriously hope he at least has the grace to announce his “retirement” at the end of the 6 months. I also hope he takes Alllsion with him. That GIF of the uh…butt buffet at the sink haunts me. She is one of the least sexual people in the entire world.
“butt buffet” is cracking me up
He’s done. I don’t think there is the possibility for a reappearance because this particular scandal has too much comic potential, while sex scandals, syndermans breaking quarantine, etc., do not. Or, at least, not to this degree. Williams will be a running joke indefinitely. The stories he told have this childish quality, and he was a *news* anchor. NBC surely wants their pot of gold back, but it really is over.
One of two things will happen. It gives them time to see how the news does with Lester, and if it does just as great, by the end of six months it is an easier way to have eased Brian out, letting him say he’s resigning and for him to say I’ve moved on to other exciting things, etc, or reassign him to a different role for the balance of his contract.
If the news show takes a dive and the viewers are tuning out without him, it will give them the time to rehabilitate his image, the mea culpas, out doing humanitarian work, whatever, and then bring him back on after it has all died down.
It could really go either way as far as him “resigning” after six months because the studio is axing him or “reassigning him” or vice versa, him returning to the anchor desk because the ratings are lagging and everything has died down.
It ain’t over till it’s over.
NBC’s investigators announced that they will now peruse Williams’ expense accounts.
uh-oh. Man, this guys fall from grace is pretty spectacular. I feel sorry for his family.
He’s done. His desire for fame and likeability is what killed him. He should’ve stuck with reading the news. What an a$$bag. He’s always been so far up his own ass and it was just magnified after he took over from Brokaw. Always making sure everyone knew how ‘funny’ he is in real life and that he’s actually ‘super cool’. He irked me on 30 Rock. Douchebag has come across as thirsty for a long time now.
Turns out he lobbied for the host job of the Tonight Show Job? Link is from NYMag
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/02/williams-wishes-he-were-tonight-show-host.html
Flower – that’s stunning info right there. He wanted Jay Leno’s job? I suppose what’s more stunning is that the powers at NBC seem to think, at least to according to this article, that Williams can be redeemed. (And WTF – looking into his expense accounts?)
I’ve read a couple of articles regarding Deborah Turness and the other head lady (who’s name escapes me at the moment) at NBC. There seems to be a lot at play over there. They tapped Turness to turn the ship around. I side eye her to the extreme because she loves Lauer and really (in my own opinion) doesn’t/didn’t want to fire Williams because he was one of the few things going correctly (for her). This whole situation makes Turness look really, really bad. Apparently she and the other heads at NBC knew WIlliams had a serious penchant for tall tales, but they just issued a warning. I wonder how long until she ‘steps down’ or whatever excuse they’ll give.
Flower, I don’t watch NBC news but I’ve known who Williams was because of the fact that he was trying to be everywhere, showing off his cool cred, as you said. It’s always irked me, too. What other “serious” person does that? He clearly has a hard time discerning between news and entertainment.
The fact that he took time out of his broadcast to talk up his daughter’s appearance in Peter Pan…..I don’t know, it seems very infotanement-y. His stint on that NBC show that had Chelsea Clinton as a contributor seemed to make him very happy. What happened to that show?
Yeah but why such an insatiable desire for fame and likeability?
He already had the most coveted position in all of journalism. He was obviously reporting from war zones in the Middle East and in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina.
Why would he feel the need to embellish the truth and risk losing everything ?
deep seated feelings of a lack of self worth from a guy who’s coming across with true narcissism issues.
He’ll have a book deal before sunset.
He’s not the worst liar, just the most prominent so an example will be made. Next permanent anchor should be a giver, not taker, and not someone who wants to be center of action and everybody’s pal. That said, I don’t care much for Holt. IMHO, he always looks like a stiff suit, and not very nuanced.
George W ‘s lies caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and cost the American tax payer over four trillion dollars. Yet I bet some of the people freaking out about Williams are still Republican voters.
Uh…guessing NBC isn’t thrilled about producing those 10th Anniversary ads touting Williams’ “Battle Scars, Values, Experience and Trust”…they were on an endless loop on NBC during the morning for awhile. Picking those focal points too! You can’t make this stuff up.
Let’s say he comes back at the end of his 6 months suspension. Will he be able to stop telling stories that didn’t happen?
I’ve met some people who do tend to tell people things that never happened to make themselves look in a better light or tell stories that never happened. With these people I met, I’ve found there was something seriously wrong with them.
I don’t give crap about what Fox news does or doesn’t do. We don’t need to rush to the lowest common denominator when assessing Brian’s actions.
I admire Brian William as a journalist. This just strikes me as-odd. I don’t know Brian Williams personally, but I know he was well respected by his colleagues and generally appreciated all the way around. I’ve loved him on Jimmy Fallon-I mean, c’mon, would grumpy old Tom Brokaw ever slow jam the news?
Maybe he just needs a sabbatical and intensive counseling.
If you’re gonna crash and burn in the nightly news biz, now would be the time! It’s goin’ down anyway….
Ah, but let us pay tribute to the best: Walter Cronkite, Peter Jennings, even Dan Rather before the Cheney neocons trapped him in a story that was allegedly inaccurate-his job went “poof”!
Forget Brian. A real journalist and foreign correspondent, Bob Simon, of 60 Minutes, was just killed in a car accident. He was in a livery cab that impacted the median after being rear-ended by a Mercedes in NY. I’m in tears. I never ever miss 60 Minutes, and loved his pieces on there and interviews. I can’t believe he’s gone. Twenty-seven Emmys. His daughter was a producer on 60 Minutes. I didn’t know that. So sad.
He didn’t have to fabricate anything to do with covering war.
“He became the CBS News Chief Middle Eastern correspondent in 1987, and became highly respected for his work during the Iraq War, especially after he and his crew were captured in the early days of the conflict by Iraqi forces and spent 40 days in prison. He would later recount his story in the book Forty Days. “