Most of 2015 has been a wipeout for Williams.
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For years, Williams claimed he was aboard a U.S. Air Force helicopter that was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and grounded during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. And social media are conflating the events.
What’s also at play here is that the one thing America loves more than knocking someone off their pedestal is hoisting them back up there when they’ve repented for their sins.
He has only been heard from once since then. The two men shared some NBC News talking heads, leading to the first uncomfortable moment of Williams’ return when he tried, unsuccessfully, to speak again to Thompson, who was on the air live with Holt for NBC.
Williams’ departure would pave the way for Lester Holt, who has been doing a fine job filling in since Williams was benched. It came from a sloppy choice of words…. It got mixed up. He didn’t say how. He will not participate in interviews with other reporters about his return. “I’m proud of how this network dealt with this”, he said. NBC suspended Williams and began an investigation into his past statements and reporting. Some of these moments were assembled into a clip reel shown to the small cadre of executives who decided his fate. It’s a way to use Williams’ breaking news chops while testing whether viewers still trust him. “I own this, and I own up [to] this”.
That page-turn is a shift from progressive-minded talk to middle-of-the-road news, particularly during the daytime when MSNBC’s ratings are the weakest. “It was a quiet and private time”. At one point, Mr. Williams stumbled over a word. The hope is that the viewers will not only forgive Williams for his transgressions, but also prefer to get their news from cable TV rather than the Internet.
Williams is scheduled to resume MSNBC’s coverage of the pope’s visit today. “Those kinds of whoppers were completely verboten and the penalty was execution”.
Mr. Lack recalled that as Mr. Williams was leaving the dinner, he turned to his boss, smiled, and said, Back to the future.
“Who knows?” he said. While his account hasn’t gone up in holy smoke, it has varied over the years.
“Our coverage of this visit and this day continues, as we will all the way through the Pope’s departure from the United States on Sunday night”. Whether there’s a glimmer of a chance for him to return to NBC proper in some manner remains to be seen.
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Brian Williams returned to the airwaves on Tuesday, September 22. “In a short time, Pope Francis will arrive in this country for the first time”. And he embraced my hand with both of his, made the sign of the cross, and said a blessing to me’. “I told stories that were wrong”, Williams said.
