The Brian Williams Saga
Over the last two weeks, NBC’s Nightly News anchor, Brian Williams, has been under the spotlight for lying about events during his time as a journalist and reporter. On Tuesday, the news broke that he was being suspended by NBC for six months without pay.
Williams claimed to have been shot down while in a Chinook helicopter during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. According to the soldiers that were with Williams, he isn’t telling the truth. His story is that while he and multiple soldiers were riding in the helicopter, it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and crashed. According to The Washington Post, after Williams featured his helicopter story on his show, a flight engineer who was on the helicopter that was actually hit by an RPG said that Williams wasn’t even on the same helicopter. That was the beginning of a possible end for Williams.
On top of the helicopter story, Williams has also been suspected of making up stories about his reports in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. NBC has taken the Katrina fabrications into account, but many people within the organization agree that the made up story of the helicopter being shot down is much more of an outrageous claim. A network official for NBC stated that information just kept piling up and Williams’ story seemed “less and less credible each time.”
After the news broke that Williams was suspended, reporters within the NBC newsroom were allegedly shocked. According to the Washington Post, they did not expect such a model reporter and journalist to fall so fast into being suspended and possibly even fired from a job he has done for so long. Williams’ Nightly News show has been a huge hit, and he is one of NBC’s biggest stars, and has appeared as a guest on numerous shows like Saturday Night Live. That may all change as of Tuesday.
Williams has gotten himself in a lot of hot water and may be done in the news world after the repercussions of his “stories.” Only time will tell what the future holds for him.
