On Tuesday, NBC issued a statement that indicated Brian Williams, managing editor and anchor of NBC Nightly News, will be suspended for six months without pay. The suspension results from Brian’s misrepresentation of events dating back to the Iraq War while on Nightly News on Friday, January 30, as well as other occasions. Williams has not been truthful regarding his experience in the field. Critics, however, believe that the six-month suspension is far too lenient.
According to Deborah Turness of NBC Universal, an ongoing review is being led by Richard Esposito, who is working closely with NBC Universal General Counsel Kim Harris, that will further examine Williams’ behavior, which Turness calls “wrong and completely inappropriate.”
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The statement reads,
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.
The drama unfolded when Williams admitted on February 4 that, despite claims he has made since 2003, he was not aboard a helicopter hit and forced down by RPG fire during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. That claim had been repeated by NBC for years, and had been reiterated by Williams on January 30 during NBC’s coverage of a public tribute at a New York Rangers hockey game for a retired soldier.
While presenting NBC coverage of that tribute, Williams retold his now debunked story. “The story actually started with a terrible moment a dozen years back during the invasion of Iraq when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG,” Williams said on the broadcast. “Our traveling NBC News team was rescued, surrounded and kept alive by an armor mechanized platoon from the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry.”
Williams has now admitted that he remembered the events incorrectly and has issued an apology.
Stars and Stripes reported, “The admission came after crew members on the 159th Aviation Regiment’s Chinook that was hit by two rockets and small arms fire told Stars and Stripes that the NBC anchor was nowhere near that aircraft or two other Chinooks flying in the formation that took fire.” Williams arrived one hour after the event took place, in another helicopter.
“I would not have chosen to make this mistake,” Williams said. “I don’t know what screwed up in my mind that caused me to conflate one aircraft with another.” But this is not the first time Williams has “misremembered” important information.
Williams has also caught flak for his reporting on Hurricane Katrina.
WND reported, “More details about the newsman’s dramatic misremembering of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have emerged, with the manager of the hotel he stayed at directly contradicting his narrative of seeing dead bodies float in the street, being attacked by gangs in his hotel, and contracting dysentery.”
Williams’ latest “misreprentation” has resulted in six months unpaid suspension, but for critics, that amounts to a mere slap on the wrist.
Brent Bozell, Media Research Center president, issued the following statement in response to NBC’s decision:
NBC’s lead anchor is exposed as a serial liar who attempts to deceive even when he’s apologizing for his lies. And for that he gets a suspension? One month, two months, six months, six years. Who cares? NBC has decided that news presented by a dishonest superstar is preferable to news presented honorably by anyone else if it means a drop in ratings. But this isn’t supposed to be about ratings. It’s supposed to be about professionalism, and ethics, and honestly. If NBC thinks giving Mr. Williams a sabbatical resolves the issue, that network is clueless. A new descriptor is born: ‘NBC News, whose lead anchor repeatedly has lied about the news…’ NBC is unbelievable — literally — just like Brian Williams.
Morgan Brittany’s commentary for WND notes that people like Brian Williams are contributing to a culture where lying has become an acceptable norm. Brittany draws parallels between Williams’ lies and former president Bill Clinton’s assertions that he did not engage in sexual acts with his intern, Hillary Clinton’s “misspeak” about being fired on by snipers in Bosnia, and President Obama’s false promise that Americans can keep their doctors and health plans under ObamaCare.
Brittany opines:
Are we now living in a country where nothing is real or true? Schools are rewriting history to push their agenda; the truth is being twisted to produce a desired outcome, rather than the actual story. Global warming is manipulated and sold as the gospel, even though it has been proven to be a hoax. “Hands up, don’t shoot!” has become a slogan for angry protesters even though those words were never spoken! Are we being led and lectured to by narcissists that are so arrogant as to not even care that they have no ethics, values or morals? When will we stand up and refuse to accept this? When will we hold them accountable? If we don’t, soon the word “lie” will go the way of “illegal” and will be phased out of our vocabulary.
For some, Williams’ six-month suspension amounts to nothing more than a sabbatical, after which Williams is expected to be welcomed back to a high-profile news station, where he may or may not continue to deceive the public. And Americans will continue to increase their tolerance of dishonesty from people in positions of power.
Photo of Brian Williams at induction into New Jersey Hall of Fame: AP Images
