Williams return is part of revamp at MSNBC
Brian Williams was eating dinner in early June at the Bronxville, New York, house of his new boss, Andrew Lack, discussing his fate at NBC News.
It was nearly four months after Williams had been suspended from his position as anchor of NightlyNews, and he had been reflecting on how he might make a return to the air.
Williams said he hoped to focus on live, breaking news.
Lack responded that he had the perfect fit. Williams could resume his career at MSNBC, the ratings-challenged cable network that was in the midst of overhauling its daytime coverage.
“His passion fit exactly with one of our biggest needs,” Lack, chairman of NBC News and MSNBC, said in an interview Monday. “Brian will be such an important contribution to MSNBC’s page-turn here.”
Now, after seven months of making news, Williams will start covering it once again. He is expected to return to the air on MSNBC about 3 p.m. Tuesday in his new role as a breaking news anchor, starting with coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to the United States.
His re-emergence represents the opportunity for Williams to rehabilitate his image and restore the trust he once commanded as head of the country’s No. 1 evening news broadcast.
At the same time, NBC News executives are hoping he can help MSNBC reverse its fortunes by focusing on hard news during the daytime and by integrating with NBC News to create one news operation that delivers its coverage across broadcast, cable and digital outlets.
“The news is the star,” Lack said. “We are building a network that has as its core value delivering breaking news better than anyone else. It is not about the anchor who happens to be delivering the news.”
There is no guarantee that the transition will be smooth. As breaking news anchor, Williams has not been assigned to a specific time slot on the network, but rather is expected to lead coverage when big stories unfold, whether that’s about politics, the pope or natural disasters.