"NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams is being suspended for six months without pay following revelations that he exaggerated tales from an Iraq War mission in 2003.
Tuesday night's announcement capped an extraordinary and painful six-day period for the network. Television veterans could recall nothing quite like it: a network benching the face of its news division to penalize him for what the CEO of NBCUniversal, Steve Burke, called "inexcusable" actions.
There is a widespread belief among rank-and-file NBC staffers that he may never actually return to the anchor chair he has held since 2004.
And if he does return, he'll return in a diminished capacity.
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.
As Managing Editor and Anchor ofNightly News, Brian has a responsibility to be truthful and to uphold the high standards of the news division at all times…
As I’m sure you understand, this was a very hard decision. Certainly there will be those who disagree. But we believe this suspension is the appropriate and proportionate action.
Several rival executives, speaking anonymously, said there was no joy to be had in Williams' befalling. "Inside Edition" host Deborah Norville said much the same thing onSource:CNN/TIME
"There is no delight to be taken in this," Norville said, calling the blow to Williams' credibility "also a blow for journalism."
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