But, we know he’s ready to make amends with the public as Brian filmed an interview with Matt Lauer which will premiere this morning on Today and this evening on Nightly News.
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“I’m sorry”, it said, unequivocally.
He was suspended without pay after admitting that the story was not true. The respect and admiration I have for the Nightly News team has only grown deeper over the last several months that we’ve been together.
For the most part, the network said, those statements were not made on the news, but “on late-night programs and during public appearances, usually years after the news events in question”.
Holt tweeted shortly after NBC made his promotion official: “Promised my family I wouldn’t think about work during vacation”.
Mr. Burke said, “First of all, I want to thank Lester Holt“.
Besides the retelling of Williams’ experiences in Iraq in 2003 that led to his suspension, there were reports that questioned Williams’ claims during coverage of Hurricane Katrina, anti-government riots in Egypt, conflicts between Israel and Palestinians and the aftermath of the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.
Williams’ suspension ends in August. “Looking back, it has been absolutely necessary”.
Williams said Nightly News “will be in excellent hands with Lester Holt as anchor”.
Williams confirmed to Lauer that he initially wanted his nightly anchor chair back and he “pushed back at first” when his bosses said no.
What does that say about MSNBC?
When Williams was suspended for six months in February, Holt was designated to fill in. But given that NBC said most of his misstatements came in later recounting of his reporting experience as opposed to reporting when the story was current, he’s not likely to be swapping stories with the likes of Jimmy Fallon or Stephen Colbert anytime soon.
He said “there are going to be different rules of the road”, but didn’t say what they would be. Curry was pushed out as co-anchor of the Today show in 2012, bidding a tearful goodbye on-air that created a huge controversy for NBC News.
The comeback effort apparently also entails meetings with staffers.
It’s already being dubbed an “apology tour”.
The result: NBC announcing yesterday that Williams has been relegated to the post of breaking news and special events anchor for MSNBC.
NBC’s resolution of the Brian Williams situation represents a total shirking of responsibility.
Williams was “deeply apologetic” during his conversations with the Washington staffers, a source said. Is Williams move designed to bolster the struggling network or to simply finish it off? Burke said he believes in second chances, and they are ready to move forward with anticipation that this position will be a good one for Williams and for the organization. Brian Williams was on top of the world: the top-rated broadcast news anchor and frequent funnyman on “SNL”, David Letterman and Jon Stewart.
“Brian now has the chance to earn back everyone’s trust”.
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