NBC boots anchor off air for 6 months
For misleading on Iraq experience, Williams also will go without salary
NEW YORK — NBC announced Tuesday that it is suspending Brian Williams as Nightly News anchor and managing editor for six months without pay for misleading the public about his experiences covering the Iraq War.
The network announced the decision less than a week after Williams apologized for saying on the air that he was in a helicopter hit by a grenade in 2003. Instead, another helicopter in his group was hit, and some veterans involved in the mission called him out on it.
Questions also have been raised about Williams’ accounts of his reporting on Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He has said he saw dead bodies float by in New Orleans’ French Quarter, which had minimal flood damage.
NBC Chief Executive Steve Burke said Tuesday that Williams jeopardized the trust he has built up with viewers during his decade as the network’s lead anchor.
“His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate,” Burke said. But he said “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.”
Williams declined to comment after the announcement.
Lester Holt, Williams’ primary substitute, will fill in for him during the six-month suspension, NBC News President Deborah Turness said. Holt stepped in as anchor this week after Williams took himself off the air.
Turness also said the review of Williams’ work by NBC’s investigative editor Richard Esposito, together with the network’s general counsel, is continuing.
She said she was concerned with Williams’ comments both on the air and in outside venues. Williams told the war story on David Letterman’s talk show in 2013 in addition to Nightly News on Jan. 30.
Williams has the responsibility to be truthful and uphold the standards of the news division, Turness said. But she said she felt it would be wrong to disregard the work that Williams has done and the “special relationship” he has built with viewers over 22 years.
“As I’m sure you understand, this was a very hard decision,” she said in a memo to NBC staff members. “Certainly there will be those who will disagree. But we believe this suspension is the appropriate and proportionate action.”
Some critics called for Williams’ firing, suggesting that it would be difficult for NBC viewers to trust him again. But others, including several viewers who wrote on NBC’s Facebook page, said they would be angry if NBC let him go for the violation.
A New Jersey native, Williams joined NBC in 1993 and served as chief White House correspondent and anchor of News With Brian Williams on MSNBC and CNBC, according to the NBC News website. He replaced Tom Brokaw on Nightly News in December 2004.
Losing Williams could cost NBC in terms of ratings and advertising dollars. Network news anchors are “a symbol” for their companies, said David Westin, a former president of ABC News.
Nightly News has remained atop the evening news ratings, and averaged more than 10 million viewers a night last week. Other NBC News shows, like Today and Meet the Press, have faltered in the ratings.