Disgraced NBC anchor demoted; black successor makes history

Disgraced US television news anchor Brian Williams was dumped from NBC's nightly news program Thursday, and replaced by the first African American to helm a weekday network evening newscast.

The 56-year-old Williams -- whose embellishment of an Iraq war story led to his suspension -- has been shifted to sister cable network MSNBC, where he will take over as anchor of breaking news and special reports in mid-August.

Lester Holt -- who has been filling in for Williams -- will permanently take over as anchor of NBC Nightly News, in a breakthrough for black journalists.

Williams was suspended in February for six months and saw his work investigated after he admitted changing a tale about coming under fire and amid accusations that he stretched the truth on other occasions.

NBC said Williams "made a number of inaccurate statements about his own role and experiences covering events in the field" following a probe into more than 10 years of his reporting.

"The statements in question did not for the most part occur on NBC News platforms or in the immediate aftermath of the news events, but rather on late-night programs and during public appearances, usually years after the news events in question," it said in a statement.

Andrew Lack, chairman of NBC News and MSNBC, said Williams now had the chance to earn back everyone's trust.

"His excellent work over 22 years at NBC News has earned him that opportunity," he said.

Williams, who reportedly earned $10 million a year and drew in an audience of an estimated nine million people as host of NBC Nightly News, apologized in the same statement.

"I'm sorry. I said things that weren't true. I let down my NBC colleagues and our viewers, and I'm determined to earn back their trust," he said, promising to support his successor "100 percent."

Holt, who is also 56, has been a television reporter for 34 years, and joined the network in 2000.

The National Association of Black Journalists hailed his appointment.

"It is thrilling to see that an African-American will for the first time in television history be the solo anchor of an network evening newscast," said NABJ Vice President-Broadcast Dedrick Russell.

In 1978, Max Robinson became America's first black television network news anchor when he was made part of a three-anchor team at ABC's World News Tonight, the association said.

A decade later, Carole Simpson took over as weekend anchor of the same program.

Lack, the NBC News and MSNBC chairman, praised Holt for his "outstanding work" and for performing "remarkably well over the last few months under very tough circumstances" as Williams' stand-in.

"In many ways, television news stands at a crossroads, and Lester is the perfect person to meet the moment," he said.

Holt said he was "very proud and grateful to be part of such an unflappable and dedicated team of professionals as we move forward together."

Williams admitted that a story about his helicopter coming under fire in Iraq was not true, after criticism from troops there at the time.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

NBC's Brian Williams suspended 6 months over Iraq claims

Brian Williams, the anchor of NBC's top-rated "Nightly News" program, has been suspended without pay for six months after admitting last week that a story he told about coming under fire on a helicopter during the Iraq war was not true, the network said on Tuesday.

As one of America's most prominent journalists, Williams' suspension and sudden downfall casts a pall over the Comcast Corp-owned network and its reputation as one of the most authoritative sources for news in the United States.

"By his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News," NBC Universal chief executive Steve Burke said in a statement from the network. "His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate."

Williams, 55, a star anchor who has led "Nightly News" since 2004, has told different versions of a tale in which a U.S. military helicopter he was riding in during the first days of the Iraq war in 2003 was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

His suspension comes after he voluntarily took himself off the air on Saturday and five days after NBC News launched an inquiry into his story of the event.

NBC News president Deborah Turness said in a memo to staff that the inquiry is still ongoing.

Backlash against Williams, who also served as managing editor of the newscast, swiftly gained steam from soldiers on social media after a Jan. 30 "Nightly News" segment in which Williams retold a version of the story.

'Completely inappropriate'

U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes first reported on a number of soldiers who disputed Williams' claims, saying he was not on or near the helicopter that was hit.

"This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian's position," Turness said in the memo.

Williams' fall from grace has also sparked a wider debate about the role of the news anchor at a time when the influence and relevance of the nightly network broadcast has waned in the Internet age.

Williams' apology last week, in which he said he misremembered the event, was widely mocked and criticized. He also struggled to explain himself in an interview with Stars and Stripes on how he misrepresented the story.

"Because I knew we had all come under fire, I guess I had assumed that all of the airframes took some damage because we all went down," Williams told the newspaper in a Feb. 4 interview that was published on Monday.

Lester Holt, the weekend anchor of "Nightly News," will continue to fill in for Williams, the memo said.

Williams built on his celebrity as an anchor by frequently appearing elsewhere on television such as late night talk shows and hosting NBC's sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live."

The newscast, which averaged about 10.2 million viewers for the week ended Feb. 2, pulled in an estimated $148 million in advertising revenue during the third quarter, according to Kantar Media.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

NBC to investigate anchor Williams' Iraq war reporting

NEW YORK - NBC launched an internal probe on Friday into top-rated "Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams' debunked claim that he was aboard a helicopter that was downed by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In an internal memo, NBC News President Deborah Turness told staffers that a team would gather the facts about the incident in which Williams, 55, falsely said he was in a U.S. Army helicopter that was hit and forced down by an RPG.

"This has been a difficult few days for all of us at NBC News," she said. "As you would expect, we have a team dedicated to gathering the facts to help us make sense of all that has transpired."

Williams apologized on TV on Wednesday for "making a mistake" after veterans complained about the claim he made during a broadcast last week, saying it was not true.

But the lie threatens his credibility as the anchor and managing editor of NBC's flagship evening news program.

"I was instead in a following aircraft. We all landed after the ground fire incident and spent two harrowing nights in a sandstorm in the Iraq desert," Williams said in his apology.

He blamed it on repeatedly watching a video of himself looking at the impact damage and "the fog of memory over 12 years" that he said made him misremember.

The probe by the network's investigative unit is being headed by Richard Esposito, who was formerly the editor of Daily News newspaper of New York, according to media reports.

The apology by Williams did little to quell the uproar and cast doubt about whether he would be able to continue in his role at NBC, a unit of Comcast Corp.

"We're working on what the best next steps are," Turness added in the memo.

NBC did not respond to requests for comment, and Williams appeared on his evening news show on Friday.

But the Emmy-winning anchor was ridiculed on social media and in the press for his "lame apology."

"Now Williams is under fire," read a banner headline in the New York Post, which listed other interviews and news segments in which he spoke about his helicopter being forced down.

Williams is also facing scrutiny about his remarks about covering Hurricane Katrina. In an interview he spoke about seeing a deceased man float face down from his hotel window in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

But a former city health director, Dr. Brobson Lutz, told the New Orleans Advocate he questioned Williams' account because the historic district did not experience as much flooding as other parts of the city.

Lutz was also dubious about comments Williams made in another interview when he said he suffered from dysentery after mistakenly drinking flood water while covering Katrina.

"I saw a lot of people with cuts and bruises and such, but I don't recall a single, solitary case of gastroenteritis during Katrina or the whole month afterwards," said Lutz.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com