Brian Williams Back: Ratings Slip For ‘NBC Nightly News,’ Network And Audience Ready To Forgive Brian Williams?

After Tuesday’s ratings for NBC Nightly News, it seems that the network and the audience may want Brian Williams back. At least, that’s what some reports are implying. As CNN reports, the Nightly News anchor’s absence is starting to show its impact in viewer ratings. Williams — currently on a 6-month suspension for his inflated war story in Iraq — is growing increasingly frustrated. A source tells CNN on the condition of anonymity that Brian is “fed up.”

According to the report, Brian Williams wants his job back, but he’s not allowed to openly reveal his “unhappiness.” In the meantime, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir is gaining ground… taking the lead spot in Nielsen Ratings for three straight weeks.

Lester Holt has been the anchor fill-in while Williams is on suspension. The latest ratings is a concern for the network, Holt, and Williams. NBC isn’t sure they should bring Brian Williams back, but the audience clearly preferred him on Nightly News before everything came crashing down around the embattled anchor.

Andy Lack, the head at NBC News, isn’t saying anything about whether Williams will be reinstated. From the start of Brian’s suspension, many have speculated about his return to the network — and journalism as a whole. It’s basically one of those time will tell situations.

The Washington Post wrote last week that “people on both sides of the negotiations, including some at NBC, say it is unlikely that Lack and NBC will go into the upfronts without resolving Williams’s status beforehand.”

There’s no way of telling if any kind of negotiations are going on behind closed doors with NBC and Williams. Williams’ attorney isn’t commenting on the situation either. Several inside NBC are rooting for Holt, the report says. He’s well-liked and been a contender for the anchor position that Brian has held for years.

Vanity Fair published a story not long ago that read investigators “have compiled a number of other incidents that, taken as a whole, paint a portrait of Williams as a man who has consistently burnished his stories.”

It’s impossible at this point to tell what’s really taking place. There’s little doubt that NBC is at odds over what to do. If they forgive Brian Williams and put him back on the air, will the audience have the same confidence in him?

Even if they bring Brian Williams back, will that restore faithfulness in the anchor and the network? It’s unknown what the final outcome will actually be.

[Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images]