It is hard to find a more satisfyingly American success story than that of Brian Williams. Over the course of a 30 year career, Williams steadily climbed the ranks of broadcast journalism to become the most-watched anchor on NBC, the top-rated nightly news network in America.
His public and professional recognition has been staggering; his collection of awards includes 12 Emmys, 11 Murrow awards, and the George Foster Peabody Award, the highest honor in the field of journalism. To top it off, Williams never even graduated from college.
He took over for Tom Brokaw as anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News in 2004 and has remained a recognizable face ever since. Our generation may first remember him for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which is largely regarded as the “breakout” work that made him a true force in the industry.
If you’re not a huge follower of nightly news, you may have seen Williams on comedy shows alongside the likes of Jon Stewart and the cast of Saturday Night Live. A recent favorite is a segment on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where clips of Williams are edited together and set to popular rap songs.
The influence of a journalist like Williams reaches into every household and every demographic in America. A major news network relies on its anchors to be the “faces” of its brand, to bring in the ratings and the millions of dollars each year. There is an immense amount of trust placed in a public figure of this caliber. More than anything, the American public needs to trust that the news being delivered to it every day is factual.
But what happens when that trust is broken?
Williams, now 55, has an oft-told story about his time spent covering the Iraq War. In 2003, he was traveling in a convoy of helicopters when the helicopter in front of him was hit by rocket fire and forced to land. This is the story that matches up with Williams’ testimonials directly following the incident, and the version of events that has been corroborated by the servicemen who were there with Williams.
However, over the next few years, the story got twisted. Williams began to claim that he was actually in the helicopter that took fire, not flying some indeterminate distance behind it. In January 2015, Williams claimed in a Nightly News report that, “the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG [rocket powered grenade].” On February 4th, 2015, following backlash on Facebook, Williams retracted this statement and formally apologized to both the viewers and the military.
Unfortunately, “sorry” doesn’t seem to cut it when one’s $10 million salary is predicated on the public’s perception of one’s ability to tell the truth. NBC has suspended Williams for 6 months without pay. Some, like Rolling Stone contributor and fellow award-winning journalist Steve Daly, have jumped to Williams’ defense, blaming the carefully orchestrated inner workings of the newsroom for the mistake, rather than any conscious effort on Williams’ part to fool the American people.
“If we can accept the possibility… that Williams did not write the copy he read on the air, then the entire argument against Williams crumbles,” says Daly.
Williams may well deserve a degree of sympathy; his work is certainly some of the best, most meticulous journalism of the last decade.
However, there is undeniably a facet of his personality that likes to play the intrepid journalist, to embellish the parts of the story that directly involve him. Investigators are now pulling up other statements Williams has made over the years that belie his tendency to put himself closer to the action.
In the wake of this scandal, the news community has resolved to be more introspective about the kinds of stories it tells. When a journalist, especially a trusted public figure, slips seemingly harmless dramatizations into a report, a tiny inaccuracy can be perpetuated into a real problem.
To paraphrase a statement from former ABC News president David Westin, reporters need to look at themselves and make sure that they are covering a story, not trying to be a part of it.
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