Brian Williams Headed Back To Primetime To Cover Iowa Caucuses
Brian Williams, the former NBC Nightly News anchor, is headed back to primetime television. Williams is scheduled to make a return to the anchor seat, co-anchoring MSNBC’s coverage of the Iowa caucuses with television host Rachel Maddow.
MSNBC’s live coverage of the Iowa caucuses is slated to begin on Monday, February 1 at 6 p.m. EST.
According to the Wrap, both Williams and Maddow will be anchoring live from New York City, while Chris Matthews, who is the host of Hardball, will be covering the caucuses in Des Moines, Iowa, with Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd.
In a recent interview, Maddow said that she is looking forward to anchoring what will undoubtedly be an “unpredictable” event, adding that there is no obvious winner on the Democratic side of the competition.
“I mean, who on the Democratic side knows who’s going to win?” she asked humorously. “That’s freaking spectacular, just in terms of suspense.”
MSNBC personalities will include Chris Hayes, Kasie Hunt, Hallie Jackson, Chris Jansing, Katy Tur, and Kristen Welker. They will all be reporting live in campaign headquarters that evening, in addition to various caucus sites throughout the state of Iowa.
Before becoming the NBC Nightly News anchor in 2004, Williams was an anchor for a primetime news program called The News with Brian Williams on MSNBC.
Williams eventually made a return to television last September after being on a six-month suspension for lying, or exaggerating, certain details from situations that would ultimately derail his TV news career.
Incidentally, a scandal broke out involving Williams and a helicopter he was riding in during the early days of the Iraq war. He claimed that the chopper was struck by an RPG during his coverage of the war when, in fact, it wasn’t true. Because of this incident, NBC decided to launch an investigation into Williams’ past work history. In February 2015, the network had no choice but to suspend the anchor for a period of six months.
“I told stories that were not true. Over the years, looking back, it is very clear. I never intended to. It got mixed up. It got turned around,” Williams told NBC’s Matt Lauer last June on NBC’s Today.
Since returning from his suspension, Williams has been working for MSNBC as a breaking news and coverage anchor. In the meantime, Lester Holt, who is currently Williams’ replacement on the Nightly News, has been doing remarkably well anchoring the program.
Just sat down with Pres. Obama to discuss criminal justice reform. The interview tonight on @NBCNightlyNews pic.twitter.com/pN9ONSzdHG
— Lester Holt (@LesterHoltNBC) November 2, 2015
In regards to Williams’ returning back to primetime, Maddow released the following statement.
“NBC and Brian sort of investigated that and worked that out and came to terms on that, and I think he’s back on the air for a reason,” Maddow said. “There really isn’t anybody better in terms of handling breaking news, serious news, and as a resource for having to deal real-time with quickly changing information, he’s the best there is. What’s past is past.”
Mr. Williams has made several television appearances in other parts of the popular NBC empire. According to Variety, in December, Williams was called to do a special report on NBC while Lester Holt was out sick. He and Maddow have co-anchored together in the past as well. In addition, Williams covered Pope Francis’ visit to the United States back in September.
Three of NBC’s major news programs, which include Meet the Press, Today, and Nightly News, will be broadcasting live from Iowa sometime next week. Meet the Press will get the ball rolling on Sunday, followed by Today, which will feature a two-hour special presentation, and Lester Holt will be anchoring NBC Nightly News with live special reports on Monday night.
Do you think Williams deserves a second chance? Why or why not? Leave your comments below in the comments section and let us know what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT8PX-10E24
[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]
