In a move that is not unlike Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams is leaving NBC, and going into semi-retirement, leaving open the possibility to come back from time to time to host a special, or be asked to be on a news panel. There are many news devotees who will be sorry to see Williams go, and there are many who watch other networks who will be glad to see a journalists who lies, and got caught doing it, go away. The Associated Press has the story:
Williams was NBC News’ top anchor from 2004 until 2015, when he was suspended for making false claims about being hit by enemy fire while in a helicopter
NEW YORK (AP) — Brian Williams, who remade his career as an MSNBC host after losing his job as NBC “Nightly News” anchor for making false claims about a wartime story, is leaving the network after 28 years.
Williams said in a note to colleagues that “following much reflection,” he had decided to exit when his contract ends in December.
“This is the end of a chapter and the beginning of another,” Williams wrote. “There are many things I want to do, and I’ll pop up again somewhere.”
Williams, 62, said he will take a few months off to spend time with his family.
Williams was NBC News’ top anchor from 2004 until 2015, when he was suspended for falsely claiming that he had been in a helicopter hit by enemy fire during the Iraq War. A subsequent investigation found that he had made other inaccurate statements about his experiences covering events, and he lost the job.
He was later given the 11 p.m. hour at MSNBC, which he turned into a fast-moving, entertaining newscast summing up the day’s news.
By DAVID BAUDER
