The only question is, why?:
Williams' suspension is without pay and takes effect immediately, Deborah Turness, president of NBC News, said Tuesday in a memo to staff. Lester Holt, who stepped in as anchor this week after Williams took himself off the air, will continue in that role at the Comcast-owned network. Williams' salary is $13 million a year, according to the website Celebrity Net Worth.
Wow. Well, I can relate, other than the two hundred-fold less in salary, and having been, you know, bludgeoned and fired instead of just suspended.
Still doesn't answer the question of why, though. Does Miss Turness answer that question in her e-memo to staff? She certainly tries to create that impression:
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 of Nightly News, Brian has a responsibility to be truthful and to uphold the high standards of the news division at all times. [emphases added]
Aaaaaand now you know the reason for my skepticism. If Miss Turness (or Mrs. John Toker, for all you traditionalists out there) was serious about serial dissembling being "wrong and completely inappropriate," she wouldn't have qualified that judgment, now would she? Also, she would have fired "Lyin' Brian's" ass instead of just suspending him. But from her actual words in this "memo to staff," I can only logically conclude that "misrepresentation" is perfectly okey-dokey for personnel not "in Brian's position". And, in fact, we know that lies of commission and omission are part of the job description, both at NBCCCP News and all its counterparts in the Obamedia.
So why was "Slick Willie" suspended?
1) The public uproar hadn't blown over and did not look like it was going to, so something had to be done to stop the PR bleeding;
2) The thinking is doubtless that the kerfuffle will have blown over by mid-August - by which time Mr. Williams will have a whole new stack of tall tales to tell. And.....
3) ....they can always throw him completely under the bus if they need to, and put another, more discrete and not nearly so incontinent confabulator in his place. Like Lester Holt, the "Who the hell is that?" temporary (?) new anchor of NBCCCP Nightly
....who also appears to be the Peacock network's opportunity to make "history" as the first (unless I'm forgetting somebody) African-American anchor of a major network evening news program, as well as the first anchor with such a freakishly large, alien-looking cranium. Which ought to be a pretty good telegraphing that "Lyin' Brian" is gone for good.
From NBCCCP, anyway. But he's a lib, so there will always be prospects for him.
Just as there are plenty of Williams' "co-workers" who are taking an at-least rhetorical stand for the lofty principle of making [BLEEP] up:
“I’m flabbergasted, to be honest,” said a longtime NBC News veteran who spoke on condition of anonymity. “What NBC just did, by handing down this kind of six-month sentence, really prevents Brian from redeeming himself in any kind of expedient way.
Parenthetically, how would he do that? Public credibility isn't fungible; you can't simply "refill your tank" like putting gasoline into an automobile. Once it's forfeited, it's gone for good.
And don't think I didn't notice this "NBC News veteran's" conspicuous use of the term "expedient," which suggests that Mr. Williams' "redemption" would have simply been a more convincing pack of lies. Or that this person didn't want to speak on the record, probably for fear of a suspension of his or her own.
Don’t we agree that when you make a mistake, you correct it immediately, in the world we live in now?
Except that Williams didn't make "a" "mistake," he made an avalanche of them. That this "journalist" can't grasp the difference tells you all you need to know about the "high standards of the [NBC] news division."
What is Brian going to do for the next six months?”
Make up new lies. We discussed that above. Weren't you paying attention?
And, frankly, who cares what "Brian" is going to do for the next six months? What makes him deserving of any sympathy? He's set for life; he's got more money than he could ever spend. Maybe he can "spend more time with his family". Enjoy life. Relax. Retire.
Not a bad landing for somebody who, unlike me, brought the justifiable end of his career entirely upon himself.
But like I said before, he'll be given some gig on some other non-Fox network. That's just how "journalism" works.
Television news analyst Andrew Tyndall said NBC’s punishment—which essentially fines Williams an estimated $5 million in lost salary while banning him from NBC’s air for the duration of his suspension—is tantamount to a dismissal.
One can only hope. Although it won't make any difference to NBCCCP's sucker viewers, who now, perhaps, have a dim inkling of the degree to which, and for how long, they've been flagrantly deceived.
Which brings us to the punchline:
Burke, who joined Turness and NBC Universal News Group Chairman Patricia Fili-Krushel in exacting the penalty on Williams, was even more censorious. “By his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News,” Burke wrote. “His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate.” [emphasis added]
What trust?
The moral of this story? Lying is the coin of the Obamedia realm, but liars are expendable. The only "ethic"? Never, EVER get caught.
Exit question: Over/under on how long until "Lyin' Brian's" memoir is published?
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