Brian Williams Suspended For 6 Months With No Pay — NBC News Prez: ‘He Deserves A Second Chance’
The fallout from Brian Williams’ questionable recollection of an Iraq experience has now come down in the form of monetary punishment: Brian Williams has been suspended for six months without pay, reports the New York Times. As reported by the Inquisitr — the NBC Nightly News chief anchor and managing editor became the focus of an investigation by NBC News after Williams claims to have misremembered an incident whereby Brian claimed he was riding in a helicopter that came under fire from a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq.
NBC News directly reported that they are suspending Nightly News anchor Brian Williams for six months, unpaid, after their review of the Iraq story Brian repeated several times was completed. Deborah Turness, NBC News president, said Williams would be suspended immediately. Meanwhile, NBC also reported that Lester Holt — a man who has been filling in for Brian Williams intermittently in the past and during this most recent melee — will continue in his role, in simply more of a longterm basis while Brian is out.
“We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News.”
Apparently, “A Personal Note from Brian Williams” wasn’t enough to keep Brian’s role at NBC from suffering, and publications are pontificating about everyone from Katie Couric to Savannah Guthrie potentially replacing Williams, although Couric has claimed reports of her wanting Brian’s job are false.
As if the beleaguered Brian isn’t under enough scrutiny for his Iraq and Hurricane Katrina stories, Brian Williams’ account of a ’70s N.J. robbery is also now being questioned, reports USA Today?.
The “Note from NBC News President Deborah Turness regarding Brian Williams” appears on the Inside NBC News Public Relations website, and goes into further detail as to why the station decided to suspend Williams without pay — based upon the fact that his erroneous memories surrounded a news event.
“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.”
Further in the note from Turness, she explains how Brian Williams deserves a second chance, and that they are all rooting for him.
[Image of Brian Williams via New York Times]
