NBC “ Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams — under fire for falsely claiming to have been in a military helicopter hit by a grenade in Iraq, and also “conflating” other stories he reported on, including his award-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 — is stepping aside from his No. 1- rated network news program “for the next several days” as NBC conducts an investigation into his news coverage and, it would seem, decides whether or not it is in the network’s best finan- cial interests to remove him permanently from the program.

BRIAN WILLIAMS COMES UNDER FIRE
FOR ‘CONFLATING’ HIS ACCOUNTS
OF NEWS EVENTS HE COVERED

The NBC anchorman seems to have become
more concerned with personal celebrity
and making the news than in reporting it

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO OBJECTIVITY
AND PROFESSIONAL DETACHMENT?
 
By David Maril
 
My reservations about NBC news anchor Brian Williams began months before the current controversy erupted over his fabrication of an Iraq War-coverage story he has been spinning since 2003.

Calls for NBC to either suspend or dismiss him have circulated since it has been established the helicopter he was flying in was not hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and was in no danger of crashing. Williams has apologized for his distortion of facts.

It remains to be seen whether or not NBC determines there’s a strong enough public demand to discipline or fire Williams. At the very least, their investigation should thoroughly evaluate his overall reporting, especially his on-the-scene work related to Hurricane Katrina.

It there’s a trend of inaccuracies and bad judgment, he should go. That probably, however, won’t happen.

NBC has been struggling to restore the luster of the legendary “Today Show,” which has fallen behind ABC’s morning entry.

Even worse for the news division, Sunday’s “Meet The Press” has fallen from being the informative news show everyone watched regularly, to an hour of babbling and pontificating that belongs more on cable than traditional network news.

With Williams keeping “Nightly News” on top, the network is going to be extremely hesitant about taking away his job.

But whether or not Williams survives, the focus should be on what caused this breach in credibility and why the networks are erasing the distinction between journalism and entertainment.

WILLIAMS SUCCEEDED TOM BROKAW AS NBC NEWS ANCHOR

Since succeeding Tom Brokaw in the NBC anchor chair, Williams has pretty much kept his network in first place in the evening news ratings. He has a smooth, polished and comfortable delivery and a somewhat warm, folksy style that connects with his audience.

But what has been bothering me this year is a promotional spot for Williams that airs repeatedly on Comcast, which owns NBC.

While Comcast cable customers shift into the On-Demand mode to select a program, a tribute to the anchorman starts up, celebrating his 10 years in the anchor desk. When Williams begins talking about his role and focus as a news anchor, you wonder if he believes he’s more an entertainer-therapist than a news reporter.

He begins by telling us that in the old days, newscasters used to just bring the stories to the viewers. But now, it’s different and we are all in this together. Maybe he thinks we were all on that helicopter with him.

Williams goes on to say that those who watch the evening news are fulfilling their duties of good citizenship, staying informed.

Talk about delusions of grandeur! What is wrong with a news anchor maintaining some level of personal detachment and focusing on facts and objectivity?

LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE IS DIFFERENT

Local news coverage is a bit different. The news anchors are broadcasting on our hometown stations two to four hours a day and many of us run into them covering events and making appearances on the local scene. Network news, however, should follow a different, more professional and less personal tone.

Today, there’s too much emphasis on making newscasters more like entertainers and personalities than journalists. The news anchors appear on late-night entertainment and talk shows, joking around and making small-talk with the hosts.

The times have really changed. Can anyone who used to watch Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, or Edward R. Murrow imagine these news icons clowning around with David Letterman?

With the television news emphasis on style and little substance, a background as a respected journalist probably hurts more than helps.

We are living in a fast-paced changing world as far as television news coverage goes. But this is all part of the news feeding frenzy of today. Research, fact-checking, accuracy and keeping coverage in the right context and perspective is seldom a priority.

Thanks to cable coverage, the differences between commentary and reporting seem to be disappearing. Audiences who want to be spoon-fed from the right, tune in Fox News. Those viewers who want their news coverage coming in from left-field, watch MSNBC.

While cable news and specialized Internet websites have grown in stature, regular network news broadcasts have diminished in influence.  Which explains the desperation of trying to be noticed and attract an audience that encourages Williams’ type of irresponsible hype and fact-bending.
 
davidmaril@voiceofbaltimore.org
 
“Inside Pitch” is a weekly opinion column written for Voice of Baltimore by David Maril.
 
EDITOR’S NOTE: 

The Baltimore Sun’s TV critic David Zurawik was among the first last week to question whether NBC News can possibly have any credibility going forward if it fails to fire Williams.  (Read Zurawik’s column  by clicking here.)

Publicly at least, the decision to have Williams temporarily step aside — for an indeterminate number of days beginning Monday — was made by Williams himself, not by order of the network.  Despite the raging controversy, he appeared on Friday’s newscast as scheduled.
 
CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S “INSIDE PITCH” COLUMN:  click here
…and read archived Dave Maril columns  by clicking here.