Point is, not everyone is feeling the need to string him up by his toenails. Whether he deserves it or not, they aren’t ready to hang him.
Dan Rather, too. But, it’s a very short list. Mostly people feel badly for him however this was totally self-inflicted.
He deserves to be in the time out chair, but he doesnt deserve to be gutted and filleted.
I expect a nice buy-out of his 50-million dollar contract unless he can come up with some amazing explanation which seems unlikely as they are finding serial embellishment over quite a few years, decades even. But. we will have to wait and see. There’s no gutting and filleting.
He’s been ripped a new one and many are ready to throw him under the bus. Its nice to see the few posters with some compassion and willingness to let it play out. No one is saying he’s innocent. But he isn’t the devil incarnate either.
I think NBC wants to see if their ratings change without him for six months. If they tank they may bring him back to the anchor chair. If they stay the same they might let him come back as a special correspondent or something.
Precisely.
I just read that Brian Williams is the first person in human history to suffer professional consequences for lying about the Irag War.
A bit of hyperbole, and yet…
Perhaps the reference to hyperbole is meant towards Brian Williams, as it means to exaggerate or embellish or make something sound better or worse than it is?
And I read somewhere that there may have been some ethical issues with his Hurricane Katrina reporting. You watch. They’ll dig up something big. He’s done.
I was very surprised to see on Facebook that just about all the comments about this topic supported BW and said either they will no longer watch NBC News or not until he comes back. There were thousands in support.
This transcript does not seem embellished. It may have grown like a fish story in the retelling but while there is plenty of editorial her this seems fairly straight up.
We aren’t talking about whether he should survive or be hung by his toenails or gutted. The question is whether he should keep his job. He should not. Plenty of people who can read the news as well as he can would love to have his job, he is in no way irreplaceable. He got a great job with great pay, and he blew it. Not once, but repeatedly.
People get fired every day. He should join their ranks. What he does next in life will say something about his character.
Some posters here are saying some unnecessarily harsh things. The network will decide what’s best for them. The folks on the Today show handled it very gracefully this morning.
Here’s one reason I am glad this matter is getting attention – it sends a message that integrity and honesty DO matter. I am particularly appreciative that many students and young adults are being exposed to this controversy.
I have told my own kids that integrity and reputation are easily lost – and much tougher to regain. This current event is good fodder for dinner table conversation IMO.
Brian Williams now faces that challenge of restoring his reputation. Perhaps he will learn and grow from this. My hope is that many others are learning as well. That is one benefit of the media attention.
Yes, all the attention is like rubbernecking at the scene of an auto accident – but even that has its lessons.
Beautiful post, JEM. Spot on. This should be a discussion on integrity And veracity. It shouldn’t be about tarring and feathering.
JEM, in total agreement. I was really surprised to have a discussion with my 19yo last night who didn’t seem to think this was a fireable offense. He generally has a pretty low tolerance for dishonesty so this surprised me. He tried to compare this incident to what happens on cable news networks, and I told him that I hold our network news anchors to a higher standard than I do anyone on cable news and that I was glad that a line was being drawn in the sand that this is not OK.
jym, it’s like we are reading different threads. The worst I can remember someone saying is that he’s cocky and self-aggrandizing. And yet, we’re being told that because some of us think there should be consequences, we are:
- smelling blood in the water, like sharks going in for the kill.
- going right for the jugular.
- ready to “Arrest him? Publically execute him?”
- ready to tar and feather him.
- have him gutted and filleted.
Would prefer not to spend time digging out the posts with harsh assumptions and name calling. It’s not a good use of time.
A network news anchor, and editorial writer, an entertaining celebrity guest, a current events inspired comic, and a cable TV opinion host are all very different things and different rules apply. I’m actually fascinated by how many people seem not to know the difference between these positions. However, BW knows or knows now, anyway.
The Today Show is a production of NBC News. The network is worried about mitigating damage done by BW to the already somewhat challenged NBC News brand. Also, Savannah Guthrie has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the anchor chair.
Since several of the items listed above in post 155 were written by other posters, it’s clear that many are reading posts as unduly mean spirited.
Fooey. A lot of the people who want to tar and feather Williams are obviously Fox watchers in the first place. Why should they get a vote? Personally, I think the six-month suspension is appropriate. If he returns, and expresses sufficient penitence, that should be enough.