Brian Williams...our Hero

[Corry]

This of course assumes that people trusted NBC News to start with.

He was the highest rated nightly news caster. He more than doubled the rating of his closest competitor. That's why I thought nothing was going to come of this. I'm mildly surprised.

 

[BobD]

Just my humble opinion. I don't think the average Joe really cares about this story or gives a shit what he lied about because the average Joe thinks the media and their talking heads are full of shit anyways. Everyone knows they blow all kinds of stuff out of proportion and over dramatize events for ratings. Example: When kids are dancing on dry ground behind a reporter standing in Puddle between buildings where the wind is unabated so it looks much worse.

 

[tussin]

Call me crazy, but I expect more from a national nightly news anchor. Glad he's gone.

 

[jimmymac]

Suspended 6 months without pay.

Brian Williams suspended for 6 months - Feb. 10, 2015

Brian Williams has been suspended for six months without pay following revelations that he exaggerated tales from an Iraq War mission in 2003.
NBC News president Deborah Turness informed staffers of the network's decision at a meeting shortly after Williams' fill-in, Lester Holt, finished anchoring Tuesday's "NBC Nightly News."

"The suspension will be without pay and is effective immediately," Turness wrote. "We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News."
The announcement follows a morning meeting between Williams and the CEO of NBCUniversal, Steve Burke, at Burke's apartment.
Burke said in a statement on Tuesday night, "By his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News. His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate."
Burke added, "Brian's life's work is delivering the news. I know Brian loves his country, NBC News and his colleagues. He deserves a second chance and we are rooting for him. Brian has shared his deep remorse with me and he is committed to winning back everyone's trust."

...

----------------------------

The investigation will continue.

Fun story, I know Steve Burke well. His daughters one of my good friends.

 

[Irishnuke]

Brian Williams Drops Claim al Qaeda Beheaded Him

 

[IrishinTN]

Just my humble opinion. I don't think the average Joe really cares about this story or gives a shit what he lied about because the average Joe thinks the media and their talking heads are full of shit anyways. Everyone knows they blow all kinds of stuff out of proportion and over dramatize events for ratings. Example: When kids are dancing on dry ground behind a reporter standing in Puddle between buildings where the wind is unabated so it looks much worse.

Yeah, but now we KNOW they're full of crap. He let the cat out of the bag. His Illuminati masters must make him pay....

 

[woolybug25]

Fun story, I know Steve Burke well. His daughters one of my good friends.

Jimmymac... name dropper extraordinaire.

 

[connor_in]

So no one cares about the science of memory?

Is that science "settled"? Is there "consensus"?



and also



<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SOL72ROW1ek" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>




and so you can be like dshans or try to become a network news anchor yourself, you need...




<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KIRtwBTDp2s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[kmoose]

Just my humble opinion. I don't think the average Joe really cares about this story or gives a shit what he lied about because the average Joe thinks the media and their talking heads are full of shit anyways. Everyone knows they blow all kinds of stuff out of proportion and over dramatize events for ratings. Example: When kids are dancing on dry ground behind a reporter standing in Puddle between buildings where the wind is unabated so it looks much worse.

It matters to me, because it speaks to his willingness to use a story (and a lie) to make himself look heroic, instead of objectively reporting on the news. I don't buy the "misremembered" crap at all. I think Williams has been in news so long that he has started to believe that people tune in for him and not the news. He probably has an ego that requires MASSIVE amounts of attention to keep fed, and this story makes me question whether he has lost sight of the fact that there are lines that he should not cross.

 

[Irish#1]

It matters to me, because it speaks to his willingness to use a story (and a lie) to make himself look heroic, instead of objectively reporting on the news. I don't buy the "misremembered" crap at all. I think Williams has been in news so long that he has started to believe that people tune in for him and not the news. He probably has an ego that requires MASSIVE amounts of attention to keep fed, and this story makes me question whether he has lost sight of the fact that there are lines that he should not cross.

You just described Dan Rather.

IMO, the suspension for six months is simply a way for the story to go away and when the six months is up, they don't bring him back. By that time it will be a non-story. He'll probably end up at one of the cable outlets eventually.

 

[kmoose]

You just described Dan Rather.

It probably describes most of the successful news anchors. The difference being: there's no evidence that Dan Rather ever lost sight of the importance of personal integrity in reporting.

 

[pumpdog20]

Just my humble opinion. I don't think the average Joe really cares about this story or gives a shit what he lied about because the average Joe thinks the media and their talking heads are full of shit anyways. Everyone knows they blow all kinds of stuff out of proportion and over dramatize events for ratings. Example: When kids are dancing on dry ground behind a reporter standing in Puddle between buildings where the wind is unabated so it looks much worse.

I don't think this is true, but if it is, than average Joe is an ungrateful idiot who has no concept of sacrifice and thinks heroism is scoring a winning touchdown in some game.

 

[Irish#1]

It probably describes most of the successful news anchors. The difference being: there's no evidence that Dan Rather ever lost sight of the importance of personal integrity in reporting.

Too young to remember this?

"Rather became embroiled in controversy about a disputed news report involving President George W. Bush's Vietnam-era service in the National Guard and subsequently left CBS Evening News in 2005, and he left the network altogether after 43 years in 2006.

Rather subsequently admitted on air that the documents' authenticity could not be proved. In the aftermath of the incident, CBS fired multiple members of the CBS News staff but allowed Rather to stay on."

The only difference is Rather wasn't punished.

 

[MNIrishman]

Brian Williams is an idiot but I like hearing him talk. I'd be ok if he were the lying-ist liar who ever lied, as long has his responsibilities didn't extend beyond reading what was in front of him on TV.

 

[MNIrishman]

Brian Williams Drops Claim al Qaeda Beheaded Him

That had me rolling on the floor.

 

[phgreek]

Brian Williams is an idiot but I like hearing him talk. I'd be ok if he were the lying-ist liar who ever lied, as long has his responsibilities didn't extend beyond reading what was in front of him on TV.

See, I liked Bob Ross in the voice role. Hung over on a Saturday, drop 4 advil, chug a bunch of water, and listen to that guy paint and talk about painting for 20 Minutes...OUT. Wake up and go to dinner.

 

[IrishinTN]

<iframe width="854" height="510" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2Fu6uBHl0hE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ab2cmiller]

LOL at prompter monkey and reactivate Olbermann

 

[kmoose]

Too young to remember this?

"Rather became embroiled in controversy about a disputed news report involving President George W. Bush's Vietnam-era service in the National Guard and subsequently left CBS Evening News in 2005, and he left the network altogether after 43 years in 2006.

Rather subsequently admitted on air that the documents' authenticity could not be proved. In the aftermath of the incident, CBS fired multiple members of the CBS News staff but allowed Rather to stay on."

The only difference is Rather wasn't punished.

I'm not saying that Rather was right, in this instance, to go with an uncorroborated source. But I do think that there is a HUGE difference between believing a source and running the story, and knowingly airing something that is false simply to make yourself out to be some kind of hero.

 

[kmoose]

So in researching this, and trying to make sure that I have a reasonably good understanding of all of the controversy, I found these two videos that pretty well clear up things.

Here is the original report by Brian Williams:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bdrtoy8P3po" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this report. It is pretty straightforward, and he clearly says that they landed because they were told to, not because of any imminent danger to his aircraft. He also states that they were protected by unit(s) of the 3rd Infantry, the entire time.

Now, fast forward to 2013, ten years later, on Letterman:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oa_1Lz299fY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Now, in THIS video, he is clearly trying to embellish the story to make it sound MUCH more dangerous than his original report. Towards the end, Dave says, "I have to treat you with more respect." I believe that is exactly the reason that Williams' story evolved as it did. He is in a cut-throat industry, where respect is currency. And he wanted more riches.

Finding and watching the original report does soften my stance slightly, but not all that much. Because it is clear that his story changed, and that ALL of the changes revolved around how dangerous the situation was, and how heroic he is for keeping calm.

 

[Bishop2b5]

I'm not saying that Rather was right, in this instance, to go with an uncorroborated source.

The problem was that Rather wanted the damaging info about Bush to be true and it blinded him to the possibility that it wasn't. He wasn't looking for whatever truth the facts supported. He was looking for the facts that supported what he already believed, and he was too quick to seize whatever story supported his beliefs without sufficiently checking to see if it was actually true.

 

[Irishnuke]

 

[Irish#1]

I'm not saying that Rather was right, in this instance, to go with an uncorroborated source. But I do think that there is a HUGE difference between believing a source and running the story, and knowingly airing something that is false simply to make yourself out to be some kind of hero.

Both basically lied to the public. If you read more about it Rather had a strong idea that it wasn't true. The only difference is Williams included himself in the story.

 

[kmoose]

Brian Williams' account of '70s N.J. robbery questioned

Apparently he also told a story of flying into Iraq on the same helicopter as a SEAL team, as they were entering the country for a mission. He talked about how he was told not to talk to them, not to even make eye contact with them. Then one of them stuck their hand in his box of wheat thins and ate a bunch of them before striking up a conversation with him. During that conversation, Williams remarked about how he liked the knife that the guy had on his vest. According to Williams, that knife was delivered to his office a few days later. He also claims that one of the SEAL Team Six guys sent him a thank you note, that had a piece of the fuselage of the downed StealthHawk helicopter from the Bin Laden raid attached to it.

Surprisingly, those in the Navy SpecWar community are denying these claims.

 

[Irish#1]

Brian Williams' account of '70s N.J. robbery questioned

Apparently he also told a story of flying into Iraq on the same helicopter as a SEAL team, as they were entering the country for a mission. He talked about how he was told not to talk to them, not to even make eye contact with them. Then one of them stuck their hand in his box of wheat thins and ate a bunch of them before striking up a conversation with him. During that conversation, Williams remarked about how he liked the knife that the guy had on his vest. According to Williams, that knife was delivered to his office a few days later. He also claims that one of the SEAL Team Six guys sent him a thank you note, that had a piece of the fuselage of the downed StealthHawk helicopter from the Bin Laden raid attached to it.

Surprisingly, those in the Navy SpecWar community are denying these claims.

As a teenager, how would he know the caliber or type of gun? Seems this guy has had a knack for this for a long time.

 

[phgreek]

- someone who lies to protect someone else...Friend

- someone who lies because they think the end justifies the means...Politician

- someone who lies to self-promote...Fisherman/Golfer/News Anchor

Have you seen Williams on a Bass Boat in a Freak-Show Jump Suit...how about in a Tee Box. He'll be back. To consumers of his News cast, this was nothing more than a comedian who told a bad joke...THEY WANT someone to lie to them. That it took this long to catch up to him only proves he is an elite liar...

 

[vmgsf]

My perspective. I do not know whether he will be back or not. I think it will be a purely business decision. Does NBC have anyone to step in? Will the furor subside? Will profits be higher if he goes or stays?

IF you want somewhat objective TV news try BBC and PBS. Otherwise it is all about the bucks, the bottom line, the profits.

 

[Irish#1]

My perspective. I do not know whether he will be back or not. I think it will be a purely business decision. Does NBC have anyone to step in? Will the furor subside? Will profits be higher if he goes or stays?

IF you want somewhat objective TV news try BBC and PBS. Otherwise it is all about the bucks, the bottom line, the profits.

There are plenty of people who would like that job waiting in the wings.

I agree it's about the bucks, but there is a credibility factor that comes into play which affects the bottom line. If brought back, there are a lot of people who won't watch meaning revenue will be down. That's why I don't think he'll be back. The six month suspension gives time for this to fade away and after six months, he'll be let go without any fanfare. If the ratings don't drop off much with the replacement, it makes the decision that much easier.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

There are plenty of people who would like that job waiting in the wings.

I agree it's about the bucks, but there is a credibility factor that comes into play which affects the bottom line. If brought back, there are a lot of people who won't watch meaning revenue will be down. That's why I don't think he'll be back. The six month suspension gives time for this to fade away and after six months, he'll be let go without any fanfare. If the ratings don't drop off much with the replacement, it makes the decision that much easier.

I bet that's right. They'll release him, give him some severance pay, and let the scandal fade away.