Brian Williams

American television news anchorTemplate:SHORTDESC:American television news anchor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

Template:Other people
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Catholic University of America (no degree conferred)
Brookdale Community College

**Brian Douglas Williams** (born May 5, 1959) is an American journalist at NBC News, currently serving as the chief anchor for the network's cable news channel MSNBC and as host of the network's nightly wrap-up program, *The 11th Hour with Brian Williams*.

Williams is known for his ten years as anchor and managing editor of *NBC Nightly News*, the evening news program on NBC. After Williams joined the program in December 2004, NBC News was awarded the Peabody Award for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina, and Williams accepted the award on behalf of the organization. In February 2015, Williams was suspended for six months from his position as Managing Editor and Anchor of NBC *Nightly News* for "misrepresent[ing] events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003", and on June 18, 2015 he was demoted to breaking news anchor for MSNBC.

## Early life

Born on May 5, 1959 in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Williams was raised in a "boisterous" Catholic home, of largely Irish descent. He is the son of Dorothy May (née Pampel) and Gordon Lewis Williams, who was an executive vice president of the National Retail Merchants Association, in New York. His mother was an amateur stage actress. Williams is the youngest of four siblings.

He lived in Elmira, New York, for nine years before moving to Middletown Township, New Jersey, when he was in junior high school.

Williams graduated from Mater Dei High School, a Roman Catholic high school in the New Monmouth section of Middletown. While in high school, he was a volunteer firefighter for three years at the Middletown Township Fire Department. Also while in high school, he was the editorial editor for the school newspaper. He suffered an accident during a football game that left him with a crooked nose. His first job was as a busboy at Perkins Pancake House.

After high school, Williams attended Brookdale Community College, after which he transferred to The Catholic University of America and then George Washington University. He did not graduate, and instead interned with the administration of President Jimmy Carter. He later called leaving college one of his "great regrets."

## Career

### Early broadcast career

Williams first worked in broadcasting in 1981 at KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kansas. The following year he covered news in the Washington, D.C., area at then-independent station WTTG, then worked in Philadelphia for WCAU, then owned and operated by CBS. Beginning in 1987 he broadcast in New York City at WCBS.

Williams joined NBC News in 1993, where he anchored the national *Weekend Nightly News* and was chief White House correspondent. In the summer of 1996 he began serving as anchor and managing editor of *The News with Brian Williams*, broadcast on MSNBC and CNBC. Williams also served as primary substitute anchor on *The NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw*, and its weekend anchor.

### *NBC Nightly News*

Williams became anchor of *NBC Nightly News* on December 2, 2004, replacing the retiring Tom Brokaw. His coverage of Hurricane Katrina was widely praised, particularly "for venting his anger and frustration over the government's failure to act quickly to help the victims." The network was awarded a Peabody, the committee concluding that "... Williams, and the entire staff of NBC Nightly News exemplified the highest levels of journalistic excellence." *NBC Nightly News* also earned the George Polk Award and the duPont-Columbia University Award for its Katrina coverage. *Vanity Fair* called Williams' work on Katrina "Murrow-worthy" and reported that during the hurricane, he became "a nation's anchor". *The New York Times* characterized Williams' reporting of the hurricane as "a defining moment".

In 2007, *Time* magazine named Williams one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In 2009, Williams was awarded the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism by Arizona State University. At the announcement of the award, Cronkite said he was one of Williams' "ardent admirers" and described him as a "fastidious newsman" who brought credit to the television news reporting profession.

 File:Brian Williams interviews Mitt Romney, July 25, 2012.jpg
While anchoring the *Nightly News*, Williams received 12 News & Documentary Emmy Awards. For "outstanding" work as anchor and managing editor of the *Nightly News*, he received one Emmy in 2006 (for *Nightly News* coverage of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina), two in 2007, one in 2009, two in 2010, one in 2011, one in 2013, and one in 2014. The 2014 Emmy was awarded *Nightly News* for its coverage of a deadly series of tornadoes in Oklahoma, for which it also received the duPont-Columbia University Award.

Williams also received a 2012 Emmy for his interview program *Rock Center* and a 2013 Emmy for being one of the executive producers and editors of a documentary on the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. He also shared a 2014 Emmy awarded for an NBC News Special on the Boston Marathon bombing.

Based on the Nielsen ratings, from late 2008 Williams' news broadcast consistently had more viewers than its two main rivals, ABC's *World News Tonight* and *CBS Evening News*. In fact, from late 2008 to late 2014, *NBC Nightly News* beat the other two network programs in the Nielsen ratings all but one week.

In February 2015, Williams was suspended for six months from the broadcast for misrepresenting his experience in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. At the time, his salary was $10 million a year, with a five-year contract signed in December 2014.

### *Rock Center with Brian Williams*

*Main article: Rock Center with Brian Williams*
On October 4, 2011, it was announced that Williams would be the host of *Rock Center with Brian Williams*, a news magazine program premiering on October 31, 2011, at 10:00 pm Eastern, replacing the canceled drama series *The Playboy Club*.

Named after the nickname of Rockefeller Center, the New York City landmark where NBC Radio City Studios are located, the program would become the first new NBC News program to launch in primetime in nearly two decades.

NBC cancelled *Rock Center* on May 10, 2013, due to low ratings; the network was also having trouble finding a permanent time slot for the program. The last show aired on June 21, 2013.

Williams reportedly felt "insulted" by the program's cancellation.

### Iraq War helicopter incident

 File:Brian Williams on board USS Tarawa, March 13, 2003.jpg
On February 4, 2015, Williams apologized for and recanted his disproven Iraq War story, which he had told on a *Nightly News* broadcast on January 30, 2015. He claimed that a military helicopter he was traveling in had been "forced down after being hit by an RPG". Soon after it aired, Williams' story was criticized by Lance Reynolds, a flight engineer on board one of the three Chinook helicopters that had been attacked. Reynolds and other crew members said Williams had been aboard one of a separate group of helicopters from the helicopter that had been fired upon, which was flying about half an hour behind and was forced to make an emergency landing because of a sandstorm rather than an attack. Additional soldiers soon came forward both to confirm that Williams was not in the group of helicopters one of which had come under fire, and to express their hurt that Williams had inserted himself into the event.

In his original on-air reporting of the incident on March 26, 2003, for *Dateline NBC*, Williams had said only that "the Chinook ahead of us was almost blown out of the sky ... by an RPG" and made an emergency landing. But in introducing the piece, NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw described Williams as having "got [him]self into ... a close call in the skies over Iraq", and the story was headlined, "Target Iraq: Helicopter NBC's Brian Williams Was Riding In Comes Under Fire".

A book published by NBC in 2003 said that "Army Chinook helicopters [were] forced to make a desert landing after being attacked by Iraqi Fedayeen", with Williams aboard.

In a 2007 retelling, Williams did not state that his craft had been hit, but said: "I looked down the tube of an RPG that had been fired at us, and it hit the chopper in front of us." This contradicted the statements by the crew of the craft that was hit, that it was at least 30 minutes ahead of Williams' helicopter. However, the soldiers who piloted Williams' helicopter in Iraq said no rocket-propelled grenades had been fired at the aircraft, a fact that Williams did not dispute and apologized for. In a 2013 account, Williams said his helicopter had been "hit ... and landed very quickly".

In a February 5, 2015 interview with CNN, the pilot (Alejandro Xirau) of the Chinook in which Williams was traveling said that while the aircraft did not sustain RPG fire, it did indeed sustain small-arms fire and the door gunners returned fire.

On February 10, 2015, NBC News President Deborah Turness suspended Williams without pay for six months from his position as Managing Editor and Anchor of the *Nightly News* for having misrepresented the Iraq incident. On June 18, 2015, he was demoted to breaking news anchor for MSNBC.

Journalist Malcolm Gladwell reexamined the story in a podcast episode entitled "Free Brian Williams" from his *Revisionist History* podcast. Gladwell argued that the evolving versions of Williams' story over many years matched the normal pattern of how human memory works. Over time, people conflate and combine different memories, shift times and locations, and misremember details large and small.

### MSNBC

In September 2015, Williams returned to the air as MSNBC's chief anchor. News events that Williams has since covered for MSNBC include Pope Francis's trip to the United States; the Umpqua Community College shooting; and terrorist attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, Brussels, and Nice. In January 2016, Williams also added the role of chief elections anchor for MSNBC and subsequently debuted in the new role during coverage of the 2016 Iowa caucuses.

As part of his chief anchor duties, Williams currently anchors a nightly news and politics wrap-up show, titled *The 11th Hour with Brian Williams*. The *New York Post* labeled the program a "legit hit" in February 2019, noting the show had been "beating [competitors] CNN and Fox News for three months straight." Williams, alongside co-anchor Rachel Maddow and lead analyst Nicolle Wallace, will lead the network's coverage of the 2020 United States presidential election.

### Other activities

Williams frequently appeared on *The Daily Show* as a celebrity guest interviewed by Jon Stewart and in 2007, made regular cameos as a giant head sidekick looking on Jon Stewart and helping out with pronunciations of foreign names and occasionally other foreign affairs all beginning at the premiere of the new *Daily Show* set. He appeared on the *Weekend Update* segment of *Saturday Night Live* on the season 32 premiere hosted by Dane Cook and then hosted a season 33 episode on November 3, 2007. With this episode, Williams was the first, and so far only, sitting network news anchor to host *SNL*.

Williams appeared on *Sesame Street* in a 2007 episode, announcing the word of the day, "squid," in a special broadcast. Williams appeared on *Sesame Street* again in a 2008 episode, reporting for *Sesame Street Nightly News* about the "mine-itis" outbreak, becoming a victim. He was also the host of the 2009 Annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala.

On February 22, 2010, while covering the Winter Olympics, Williams did a skit with Brian Williams, the Canadian sportscaster of CTV Sports, on the CTV Olympic set. Some in the media dubbed this the new "Battle of the Brians," as NBC's Williams compared his own modest set to CTV's expensive Olympic studio.

Williams regularly appeared on *Late Night with Jimmy Fallon*, where he slow jams the news of the previous week as Fallon sings and reiterates what Williams says, with The Roots providing the musical backing. A mash-up video created by Fallon, where Williams appears to rap to hip-hop instrumentals, became viral within a few hours. Williams has also made numerous appearances on *Late Show with David Letterman*. During an appearance on July 26, 2011, he demonstrated a skilled vocal impersonation of TV personality Regis Philbin. He has also appeared on *Late Night with Conan O'Brien*, where he took part in numerous skits and interviews.

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Williams made frequent guest appearances on NBC's television comedy *30 Rock*, as a caricatured version of himself. In the episode "The Ones", he is seen at home receiving proposition calls meant for Tracy Jordan. In "Audition Day", he auditions to be a new TGS cast member. He also is seen once on the show taunting Tina Fey's character, Liz Lemon. In April 2012, on the West Coast installment of the *30 Rock* season 6 live show, Williams portrayed a news anchor covering the Apollo 13 story.Template:Citation needed

Williams was the commencement speaker at Bates College in May 2005, The Catholic University of America in May 2004, Ohio State University in June 2008, and at the University of Notre Dame in 2010. In May 2012, he spoke at the George Washington University commencement on the National Mall. He was the commencement speaker for Elon University's graduating class of 2013, which included his son Douglas.

Williams also collaborated on the Encyclopedia of world history from Backpack Books published in 2003.

Williams has written for publications including *The New York Times* and *Time* magazine.

### Other incidents

The Iraq War controversy prompted greater scrutiny of several earlier statements made by Williams, including some he made regarding Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. For example, Williams referred inconsistently to a suicide inside the New Orleans Superdome after Katrina. CNN reported in a 2005 television documentary that Williams said he was not a witness to the suicide: "We heard the story of a man killing himself, falling from the upper deck." In a 2014 interview, however, Williams said, "We watched, all of us watched, as one man committed suicide."

Appearing on *The Daily Show* in August 2006, he told host Jon Stewart that he was nearly hit the previous month by Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon by Hezbollah while flying in an Israeli Air Force (IAF) Black Hawk helicopter: "Here's a view of rockets I have never seen, passing underneath us, 1,500 feet beneath us. And we've got the gunner doors on this thing, and I'm saying to the general, some four-star: 'It wouldn't take much for them to adjust the aim and try to do a ring toss right through our open doors, would it?' Anytime you want to cross over to the other side, baby, travel with me."

In another version of the same story, related by Williams during an interview conducted at Fairfield University a year later, he claimed that the rockets passed "just underneath the helicopter I was riding in." The claim was drawn into question since there are no four-star generals in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli helicopter doors are routinely closed during flights and the IAF's Black Hawks do not carry gunners. An IDF spokesman who was on the helicopter in question did confirm afterwards that there was Katyusha fire and, although the helicopter was not in danger, the "trajectory of the rockets was beneath us."

A reference to the fall of the Berlin Wall also received scrutiny. In 2008, Williams said he was "at the Brandenburg Gate the night the wall came down", while CBS and other sources report that he did not arrive until the next day. "The night the wall came down" is widely recognized as November 9, 1989, according to a CNN report. Williams joked in 2014 that he was upset Tom Brokaw had arrived first, adding that "by the second night of the story, we were all there."

Another statement by Williams, this one regarding the Navy SEALs, also received attention. Williams said he flew into Baghdad with SEAL Team Six, but Special Operations Command spokesman Ken McGraw stated the SEALs do not embed journalists.

On June 19, 2015, his suspension drawing to a close, Williams gave another apology and an account about his role in news going forward in an exclusive interview with Matt Lauer on the *Today Show*.

On April 7, 2017, Williams referred to the 2017 Shayrat missile strike footage of missiles being fired from a US warship as "beautiful pictures". This brought widespread criticism from the media and social networking.

## Personal life

 File:Brian Williams and his wife Jane Williams portrait 2009.jpg
Williams married Jane Gillan Stoddard, at the First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan, Connecticut, on June 7, 1986. They currently live in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Their daughter, Allison, is an actress who starred in HBO's *Girls* and the film *Get Out*. The Williams' son, Doug, is the late-night anchor of Geico SportsNite on SportsNet New York, a regional sports channel available in the New York metropolitan area. Doug Williams' program occasionally airs at the same time as his father's MSNBC program.

Brian Williams was named "Father of the Year" in 1996 by the National Father's Day Committee.

Williams was a member of the board of directors of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation from September 2006 until resigning in the wake of the scandal over his Iraq War comments.

## Career timeline

* 1981: KOAM-TV
* 1982–86: WTTG-TV correspondent
* 1985: Panorama Host
* 1985–87: WCAU-TV New Jersey correspondent
* 1987–93: WCBS-TV Anchor of weekday noon and weekend night newscasts; reporter
* 1993–present: NBC News
* 1993–94, 1996–2004: correspondent
* 1993–99: *NBC Nightly News* weekend anchor
* 1994–96: White House correspondent
* 1996–04: MSNBC *The News with Brian Williams* anchor
* 2004–15: *NBC Nightly News* anchor
* 2011–13: *Rock Center with Brian Williams* host
* 2015: six-month suspension from *NBC Nightly News* without pay for misrepresenting Iraq War experience
* 2015–present: MSNBC Chief Breaking News Anchor
* 2016–present: *The 11th Hour with Brian Williams* Anchor

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Farhi, Paul (Sep 21, 2015). "At long last, Brian Williams is back — humbled and demoted to MSNBC". https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/at-long-last-brian-williams-is-back--humbled-and-demoted-to-low-rated-msnbc/2015/09/21/ea423408-6077-11e5-b38e-06883aacba64\_story.html.
2. ↑ Times, Los Angeles. "Brian Williams' new program, 'The 11th Hour,' debuts Tuesday on MSNBC". https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-williams-msnbc-20160901-snap-story.html.
3. ↑ "Brian Williams". *msnbc.com*. April 2007. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100107020921/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3667173. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Peabody Awards – NBC News: Coverage of Hurricane Katrina". *peabodyawards.com*. http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/coverage-of-hurricane-katrina2. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "A Note from Deborah Turness", *NBC News* (Feb 10, 2015). Retrieved on Feb 11, 2015.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Brian Williams demoted to MSNBC's breaking news anchor", *Star Tribune* (June 15, 2015). Retrieved on 19 April 2019.
7. ↑ Hamilton, Nolan. "Brian Williams, Please Tell Us About Your 'Grindlingly Middle Class' Upbringing Again". Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160207060040/http://gawker.com/5988597/brian-williams-please-tell-us-about-your-grindlingly-middle-class-upbringing-again. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Albiniak, Page (November 1, 2009). "Questions for Brian Williams", *New York Post*. Retrieved on October 7, 2010. "I come from a loud Irish-Catholic family."
9. ↑ "Brian Williams Weds Jane Stoddard, TV Producer", *The New York Times* (June 8, 1986).
10. ↑ "Address by Brian Williams — Commencement 2015 – Bates College". *bates.edu*. http://www.bates.edu/commencement/annual/y2005/honorands/brian-williams/address-by-brian-williams. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
11. ↑ Mullen, Shannon (2005-01-10). "Television: Brian Williams is living his dream as "Nightly News" anchor". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.com/html/television/2002144924\_brianwilliams10.html. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Strauss, Robert (October 27, 2002). "In Person – The Life Of Brian, Annotated", *The New York Times*. "Mr. Williams grew up in Mom-apple-pie-and-TV-trays style in Middletown, Monmouth County, a town of true middle class. ... Mr. Williams, who was in junior high when the family moved there from Elmira, N.Y., was an average student who had his eyes on fast cars, fun summer jobs and hanging out at the local fire station, where he became a volunteer firefighter."
13. ↑ "Brian Williams". NOPAC Talent. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071020022614/http://nopactalent.com/speakers/Brian-Williams/1043. Retrieved October 14, 2007. "Graduated from Mater Dei, a Roman Catholic High School in New Monmouth, N.J."
14. ↑ "See Brian Williams Through The Years". *TIME.com*. http://time.com/3700177/see-brian-williams-through-the-years. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
15. ↑ "Liberties – Send in the Clones – NYTimes.com". *The New York Times*. December 10, 1995. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/10/opinion/liberties-send-in-the-clones.html. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
16. ↑ *The Tonight Show with Jay Leno*, May 22, 2009.
17. ↑ "Remarks by Brian Williams. Tulane University Commencement". May 19, 2007. http://www.grads.tulane.edu/transcript\_brianwilliams.html.
18. ↑ "Brian Williams — New Jersey Monthly — Best of NJ". *njmonthly.com*. http://njmonthly.com/articles/lifestyle/people/his-heart-belongs-to-jersey.html. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
19. ↑ "Brian Williams". *msnbc.com*. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3667173/. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
20. ↑ "American Journalism Review". *ajrarchive.org*. http://ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=904. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
21. ↑ "American Journalism Review". *ajrarchive.org*. http://ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=1237. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
22. ↑ "With Little Fanfare, an Anchor Says Goodbye". *The New York Times*. November 22, 2005. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/22/arts/television/22watc.html.
23. ↑ Kurtz, Howard. *Reality Show: Inside the Last Great Television News War*. New York: Free Press, 2007. Print.
24. ↑ "NBC wins duPont-Columbia University award". *today.com*. http://www.today.com/id/16752440/ns/today/t/nbc-wins-dupont-columbia-university-award/#.VNgQRfmUeSo.
25. ↑ "Brian Williams". *msnbc.com*. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3667173/#.VN9IEylNOlI. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
26. ↑ "Complete List – The 2007 Time 100 – Time". *time.com*. http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,29569,1595326,00.html. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "NBC News Anchor Brian Williams Next Cronkite Award Recipient". Arizona State University. April 6, 2009. http://cronkite.asu.edu/node/630.
28. ↑ "National Television Academy Presents 27th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards; Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to PBS's Bill Moyers, World Press Freedom Fighters Honored". *emmyonline.com*. http://emmyonline.com/news\_27th\_winners. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
29. ↑ "28th Annual News & Documentary Awards Announces Winners at New York City Gala". *emmyonline.com*. http://emmyonline.com/news\_28th\_winners. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
30. ↑ "30th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awars Winners Announced at New York City Gala, Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to Barbara Walters, Presidents Award Presented to CNN Doc Unit, Special Tributes to Walter Cronkite and Don Hewitt". *emmyonline.com*. http://emmyonline.com/news\_30th\_winners. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
31. ↑ "The Emmy Awards – 31st Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards nominations". *emmyonline.org*. http://www.emmyonline.org/mediacenter/news\_31st\_winners.html. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
32. ↑ "32nd Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards Winners". *emmyonline.com*. http://emmyonline.com/news\_32nd\_winners-2. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Winners Announced for the 34th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards". *emmyonline.com*. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. https://www.webcitation.org/6YJ1ezQbc?url=http://emmyonline.com/news\_34th\_winners. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Winners Announced for the 35th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards". *emmyonline.com*. http://emmyonline.com/news\_35th\_winners. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
35. ↑ "2014 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award Winners Announced — CBS and NBC Honored for Breaking News Coverage; CIR Wins Two Awards and ESPN Wins for the First Time for Investigative Reporting – TVWeek". *tvweek.com*. http://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2013/12/2014-alfred-i-dupont-columbia/. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
36. ↑ "Winners Announced for the 33rd Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards". *emmyonline.com*. http://emmyonline.com/news\_33rd\_winners. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Bauder, Steven (October 7, 2014). "ABC's 'World News' breaks a ratings streak".
38. ↑ Los Angeles Times (February 10, 2015). "Brian Williams' $10-million salary should buy some honesty". *latimes.com*. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0211-wednesday-brian-williams-20150211-story.html. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
39. ↑ Los Angeles Times (February 10, 2015). "NBC's Brian Williams, in stunning fall from grace, gets six month suspension". *latimes.com*. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-brian-williams-nbc-suspension-20150211-story.html. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
40. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (October 4, 2011). "NBC Cancels 'The Playboy Club'", *The Hollywood Reporter*. Retrieved on October 4, 2011.
41. ↑ "NBC cancels 'Playboy Club,' schedules 'Rock Center'". *HitFix*. http://www.hitfix.com/articles/nbc-cancels-playboy-club-schedules-rock-center. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
42. ↑ Bauder, David (May 10, 2013). "NBC cancels Williams' newsmagazine 'Rock Center'", Associated Press. Retrieved on October 5, 2013.
43. ↑ Stelter, Brian (June 21, 2013). "Disappointing Fall for 'Rock Center,' a News Program With Big Ambitions", *The New York Times*.
44. ↑ Joshua Barajas (February 4, 2015). "NBC's Brian Williams apologizes for false Iraq war story". Public Broadcasting System. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/nbcs-brian-williams-apologizes-false-iraq-war-story. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 Tritten, Travis J. (February 4, 2015). "NBC's Brian Williams recants Iraq story after soldiers protest". Stars and Stripes. http://www.stripes.com/news/us/nbc-s-brian-williams-recants-iraq-story-after-soldiers-protest-1.327792. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
46. ↑ "With an Apology, Brian Williams Digs Himself Deeper in Copter Tale". February 5, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/06/business/brian-williamss-apology-over-iraq-account-is-challenged.html. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
47. ↑ Tritten, Travis J. (February 5, 2015). "Brian Williams' apology draws mixed reviews from mission vets". Stars and Stripes. http://www.stripes.com/news/us/brian-williams-apology-draws-mixed-reviews-from-mission-vets-1.327935. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
48. ↑ "Soldiers offer eyewitness accounts of the Brian Williams Chinook story", *Stars and Stripes* (February 6, 2015). Retrieved on 19 April 2019.
49. ↑ "How Brian Williams's Iraq Story Changed | The New York Times". YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-WtAFa8Jlo.
50. ↑ Operation Iraqi Freedom: The Inside Story|date=September 1, 2003
51. ↑ Paul Farhi (February 7, 2014). "NBC's Brian Williams steps away from anchor chair amid probe". https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/2015/02/07/5e1393a6-af0f-11e4-ad71-7b9eba0f87d6\_story.html. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
52. ↑ "Full Show: Brian Williams Told Iraqi Helicopter Story on Letterman in 2013". *YouTube*. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwtxVjNVDBU. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
53. ↑ "Pilot says Brian Williams's chopper sustained small-arms fire, not RPG fire". *The Washington Post*. February 5, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2015/02/05/pilot-says-brian-williamss-chopper-sustained-small-arms-fire-not-rpg-fire/. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
54. ↑ Gladwell, Malcolm. "Free Brian Williams". podcast season 3. http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/24-free-brian-williams. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
55. ↑ "Brian Williams is returning to primetime news for the Iowa caucus". https://www.ew.com/article/2016/1/26/brian-williams-primetime-iowa-caucus. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 Coleman, Oli; Nathan, Sara; Greer, Carlos (2019-03-01). "Brian Williams may score top time slot after late-night ratings success" (in en). https://pagesix.com/2019/02/28/brian-williams-may-score-top-time-slot-after-late-night-rating-success/.
57. ↑ "Brian Williams Hosts Saturday Night Live Tonight" (November 3, 2007). Retrieved on September 1, 2010. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011.
58. ↑ "Williams skit lights up dull morning show", torontosun.com (February 22, 2010).
59. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (February 22, 2010). "Olympics has new Battle of the Brians".
60. ↑ Maresca, Rachael. "Brian Williams raps to 'Rapper's Delight' on Jimmy Fallon's 'Tonight Show'". http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/brian-williams-raps-rappers-delight-article-1.1620947. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
61. ↑ "Commencement 2005: Brian Williams – Commencement 2015 – Bates College". *bates.edu*. http://www.bates.edu/commencement/annual/y2005/honorands/brian-williams/. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
62. ↑ "NBC News Anchor to Speak at CUA Commencement – The Catholic University of America". *cua.edu*. http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/news/04Commencement.htm. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
63. ↑ "Alphabetical Listing of Speakers". *osu.edu*. Ohio State University. https://library.osu.edu/find/collections/the-ohio-state-university-archives/buckeye-history/commencement-addresses/alphabetical-listing-of-speakers/.
64. ↑ "Speakers". *nd.edu*. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150223111303/http://commencement.nd.edu/archives/speakers. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
65. ↑ "Commencement 2012 – GW Commencement – The George Washington University". *gwu.edu*. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150215124203/http://commencement.gwu.edu/commencement-2012. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
66. ↑ "NBC anchor Brian Williams speaks to Elon grads, his son". *News-Record.com*. http://www.news-record.com/news/nbc-anchor-brian-williams-speaks-to-elon-grads-his-son/article\_5fd206fe-c5b5-11e2-b11d-001a4bcf6878.html. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
67. ↑ "L.B.J.'s Political Hurricane". *The New York Times*. September 24, 2005. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/24/opinion/24williams.html.
68. ↑ "Stephen Colbert – The 2006 TIME 100 – TIME". *TIME.com*. May 8, 2006. http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1975813\_1975838\_1976306,00.html. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
69. ↑ Simerman, John (February 6, 2015). "NBC News anchor Brian Williams' comments about dead bodies, Hurricane Katrina starting to gain attention, draw scrutiny".
70. ↑ Calamur, Krishnadev (February 6, 2015). "More Questions Emerge About Brian Williams' Comments".
71. ↑ Kludt, Tom (February 7, 2015). "Brian Williams' reporting on Katrina: What we know".
72. ↑ "Brian Williams: We were witnesses". August 28, 2006. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14518359/ns/nbc\_nightly\_news\_with\_brian\_williams-after\_katrina/t/brian-williams-we-were-witnesses/#.VN6Gu8bCdxf.
73. ↑ "The duPont Talks: Tom Brokaw & Brian Williams on Covering Katrina pt1 of 3". *YouTube*. June 26, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBoyOGu6Gt8#t=117.
74. ↑ Hartmann, Margaret (February 9, 2015). "Brian Williams May Have Exaggerated Another Helicopter Story", *New York*. Retrieved on August 21, 2017.
75. ↑ "Debate brews over whether NBC's Brian Williams can survive controversy", *Chicago Tribune* (February 9, 2015). Retrieved on August 21, 2017.
76. ↑ "The Brian Williams Bandwagon". Chameleon Associates. February 17, 2015. https://chameleonassociates.com/brian-williams-bandwagon/. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
77. ↑ "Israeli Officer: Brian Williams' Lebanon War Reportage 'Accurate'", *Haaretz* (February 10, 2015). Retrieved on August 21, 2017.
78. ↑ "Questions Emerge Over Statement Brian Williams Made In Southland". *KCBS-TV*. February 12, 2015. http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/02/12/questions-emerge-over-statement-brian-williams-made-in-socal/. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
79. ↑ 79.0 79.1 79.2 Tom Kludt (February 12, 2015). "What else has NBC News dug up on Brian Williams?". *CNNMoney*. http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/12/media/brian-williams-investigation-questions/index.html. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
80. ↑ Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst (February 13, 2015). "Did Brian Williams embed with SEAL Team 6? - CNN.com". *CNN*. http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/13/opinion/bergen-brian-williams-seal-team-six/. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
81. ↑ "Brian's Song: Does He Deserve a Second Chance?" (June 22, 2015).
82. ↑ "Brian Williams criticized for calling missile-launch photos 'beautiful'". https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2017/04/07/brian-williams-calls-images-of-us-missile-launch-beautiful/100181570/. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
83. ↑ Hawkins, Derek (April 7, 2017). "Brian Williams is 'guided by the beauty of our weapons' in Syria strikes". https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/04/07/beautiful-brian-williams-says-of-syria-missile-strike-proceeds-to-quote-leonard-cohen/. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
84. ↑ "Brian Williams: Images of US airstrikes on Syria are 'beautiful'". April 7, 2017. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/04/07/brian-williams-images-us-airstrikes-on-syria-are-beautiful.html. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
85. ↑ "Brian Williams Weds Jane Stoddard, TV Producer", *The New York Times* (June 8, 1986). Retrieved on October 26, 2012.
86. ↑ "Brian Williams Biography-TV Guide". https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/brian-williams/bio/198488.
87. ↑ Koblin, John. "Another Williams Takes His Turn Before the Camera, at SNY". https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/business/doug-brian-williams-sny.html?\_r=0. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
88. ↑ "Brian Williams". *womensconference.org*. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. https://archive.today/20150223080342/http://www.womensconference.org/brian-williams/. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
89. ↑ "About the Father of the Year Awards and the Father's Day/Mother's Day Council, Inc.". *momanddadday.com*. http://www.momanddadday.com/about\_fathers.htm. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
90. ↑ "More fallout from Brian Williams reporting scandal". *cbsnews.com*. February 20, 2015. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-fallout-from-brian-williams-reporting-scandal/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
91. ↑ http://commencement.cua.edu/res/docs/Master%20Listing%20of%20All%20Honorary%20Degrees.pdf
92. ↑ "List of Honorary Degree Recipients - Office of the President - Bates College". https://www.bates.edu/president/list-of-honorary-degree-recipients/.
93. ↑ "Honorary Degree - University Awards & Recognition - The Ohio State University". https://www.osu.edu/universityawards/dsa/honorary.html.
94. ↑ https://commencement.nd.edu/assets/230273/honorary\_degrees\_archive\_by\_date.pdf
95. ↑ "Eight Notables to Receive Honorary Degrees From Fordham". May 21, 2011. https://news.fordham.edu/inside-fordham-category/eight-notables-to-receive-honorary-degrees-from-fordham-2/.
96. ↑ "Honorary Degree Recipients - Office of the Provost - The George Washington University". https://provost.gwu.edu/honorary-degree-recipients.

## External links

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* NBC News bio
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* "Brian Williams: My First Big Break", Mediabistro (2012)
* "The duPont Talks: Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams", Columbia Journalism School (2014)
* Chmiel, David, "His Heart Belongs to Jersey", *New Jersey Monthly*, June 9, 2008.

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