Brian Williams | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Williams in 2013 | |
| Born | Brian Douglas Williams (1959-05-05)May 5, 1959 (age 66) Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Employer(s) | CBS (1986–1993) NBC (1993–2021) |
| Television | CBS News reporter (1986–1993) NBC News reporter (1993–2004) NBC Nightly News Saturday and/or Sunday anchor (1993–1999) NBC Nightly News anchor (2004–2015) MSNBC anchor (1996–2002, 2015–2021) The 11th Hour with Brian Williams anchor (2016–2021) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingAllison |
| Awards | 12News & Documentary Emmy Awards George Polk Award duPont-Columbia University Award Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism |
Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American journalist and television news anchor. He was a correspondent forNBC Nightly News starting in 1993, before his promotion toanchor andmanaging editor of the broadcast in December 2004.[1]
In February 2015, Williams was suspended by NBC News for six months for "misrepresent[ing] events which occurred while he was covering theIraq War in 2003".[2] Four months after the incident came to light, the network removed him fromNBC Nightly News permanently and reassigned (demoted) him as the breaking news anchor forMSNBC.[3]
In September 2016, Williams became the host of MSNBC's political news show,The 11th Hour.[4][5] Williams announced in November 2021 that he would be leaving MSNBC and NBC News at the completion of his contract the following month, when he hosted his final episode ofThe 11th Hour.
On October 17, 2024, Williams was announced as the host for Election Night coverage for Amazon.[6]
Born on May 5, 1959, inRidgewood, New Jersey,[7] Williams was raised in a "loud" Catholic home of largely Irish descent.[8] He is the son of Dorothy May (née Pampel) (1918-1992) and Gordon Lewis Williams (1917-2010), who was an executive vice president of the National Retail Merchants Association, in New York.[9][10] Williams is the youngest of four siblings.[11]
He lived inElmira, New York, for nine years before moving toMiddletown Township, New Jersey, when he was in junior high school.[12]
Williams graduated fromMater Dei High School, a Roman Catholic high school in theNew Monmouth section of Middletown.[13] While in high school, he was a volunteerfirefighter for three years at the Middletown Township Fire Department. Williams was also the editorial editor for the school newspaper during his high school years.[14] He suffered an accident during a football game that left him with a crooked nose.[15] His first job was as a busboy atPerkins Restaurant & Bakery.[16]
Following high school, Williams attendedBrookdale Community College before transferring to theCatholic University of America and thenGeorge Washington University.[12] He did not earn a degree, ultimately interning in the White House Press office during the administration of PresidentJimmy Carter. He later called leaving college one of his "great regrets".[17]
Williams first worked in broadcasting in 1981 atKOAM-TV inPittsburg, Kansas. The following year he covered news in the Washington, D.C., area at then-independent stationWTTG, then worked in Philadelphia forWCAU, then owned and operated by CBS.[18] Beginning in 1987 he broadcast in New York City atWCBS.
Williams joined NBC News in 1993, where he anchored the nationalSaturday Nightly News and rotated with the national "Sunday Nightly News" until 1999 and was chief White House correspondent.[19] In the summer of 1996 he began serving as anchor and managing editor ofThe News with Brian Williams, broadcast onMSNBC andCNBC.[20] Williams also served as primary substitute anchor onThe NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, and its Saturday anchor. He reported the accident and death ofDiana, Princess of Wales.[21]
Williams became anchor ofNBC Nightly News on December 2, 2004, replacing the retiringTom Brokaw. In December 2004, when Williams took the helm, he had to apologize for saying there are "bigger problems" than newsroom diversity. NBC News PresidentNeal Shapiro vowed to redouble the company's minority hiring efforts.[22]
His coverage ofHurricane Katrina was widely praised, particularly "for venting his anger and frustration over the government's failure to act quickly to help the victims."[23] The network was awarded aPeabody, the committee concluding that "Williams, and the entire staff of NBC Nightly News exemplified the highest levels of journalistic excellence."[24] Williams accepted the award on behalf of the organization.[24]NBC Nightly News also earned theGeorge Polk Award[25] and theduPont-Columbia University Award for its Katrina coverage.[26]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".[27] However, Williams' statements about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath were received with scrutiny.[28][29] For example, Williams referred inconsistently to a suicide inside the New OrleansSuperdome after Katrina.[30] 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."[31][32]
Appearing onThe Daily Show in August 2006, Williams told hostJon Stewart that he was nearly hit the previous month byKatyusha rockets fired fromLebanon byHezbollah while flying in anIsraeli 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, somefour-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."[33] The claim was drawn into question since there are no four-star generals in theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli helicopter doors are routinely closed during flights and the IAF's Black Hawks do not carry gunners.[34] 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."[35]
In 2007,Time magazine named Williams one of the 100 most influential people in the world.[36]
In 2009, Williams was awarded theWalter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism byArizona State University.[37] 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.[37]
While anchoring theNightly News, Williams received 12News & Documentary Emmy Awards. For "outstanding" work as anchor and managing editor of theNightly News, he received one Emmy in 2006 (forNightly News coverage of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina),[38] two in 2007,[39] one in 2009,[40] two in 2010,[41] one in 2011,[42] one in 2013,[43] and one in 2014.[44] The 2014 Emmy honor was awarded toNightly News for its coverage of a deadlyseries of tornadoes in Oklahoma, for which it also received theduPont-Columbia University Award.[45]
Williams also received a 2012 Emmy for his interview programRock Center[46] and a 2013 Emmy for being one of the executive producers and editors of a documentary on theJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.[43] He also shared a 2014 Emmy awarded for an NBC News Special on theBoston Marathon bombing.[44]
Based onNielsen ratings results from late 2008, Williams' news broadcast consistently had more viewers than its two main rivals, beingABC'sWorld News Tonight andCBSEvening News.[47] On this note,NBC Nightly News beat the other two network programs in the Nielsen ratings all but one week from late 2008 to late 2014.[47]
On February 4, 2015, Williams apologized for and recanted his then-disprovenIraq War story, which he had told on aNightly News broadcast on January 30, 2015. He claimed that while he was flying in a militaryhelicopter it had been "forced down after being hit by anRPG".[48][49] Soon after it aired, Williams' story was criticized by Lance Reynolds, a flight engineer on board one of the threeChinook helicopters that had been attacked.[50] Reynolds and other crew members said Williams had been aboard a separate group of helicopters from the helicopter that had been fired upon. Williams' helicopter was flying about half an hour behind and was forced to make an emergency landing because of a sandstorm rather than an attack.[49][51] In a February 5, 2015 interview on CNN, the pilot 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 that the door gunners returned fire. Williams then claimed that several rounds missed him "by inches", which the Chinook crew chief denied.[52] On February 10, 2015, NBC News PresidentDeborah Turness suspended Williams without pay for six months from his position as Managing Editor and Anchor of theNightly News broadcast for lying and for having misrepresented the Iraq incident.[2] On June 18, 2015, he was demoted to breaking news anchor forMSNBC.[3] At the time, his salary was $10 million a year,[53] with a five-year contract signed in December 2014.[54]
On October 4, 2011, it was announced that Williams would be the host ofRock Center with Brian Williams, a news magazine program premiering on October 31, 2011, at 10:00 pm Eastern, replacing the canceled drama seriesThe Playboy Club.[55]
Named after the nickname ofRockefeller Center, theNew York City landmark whereNBC Radio City Studios are located, the program would become the first newNBC News program to launch in primetime in nearly two decades.[56]
NBC cancelledRock Center on May 10, 2013, due to low ratings. Additionally, the network was also having trouble finding a permanent time slot for the program. The last show aired on June 21, 2013.[57]
Williams reportedly felt "insulted" by the program's cancellation.[58]
In September 2015, Williams returned to the air asMSNBC's chief anchor.[4] News events that Williams had then covered for MSNBC includePope Francis's trip to the United States; the2015 Umpqua Community College shooting; and terrorist attacks inParis,San Bernardino,Brussels, andNice. 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.[59]
As part of his chief anchor duties, Williams anchoredThe 11th Hour with Brian Williams, which was a nightly news and politics wrap-up show. Williams, alongside co-anchorsRachel Maddow andJoy Reid and lead analystNicolle Wallace, led the network's coverage of the2020 United States presidential election.[60]
Williams announced on the November 9, 2021, episode ofThe 11th Hour with Brian Williams that he would be leaving NBC News and MSNBC at the expiration of his contract the following month, after five years hosting the show and 28 years with the company.[61][62] His final episode as host was December 9, 2021.[63]
On November 13, 1999 and November 14, 1999, Williams served as host forNBC Sports' first live broadcasts ofNASCAR races at theHomestead-Miami Speedway.[64]
Williams frequently appeared onThe Daily Show as a celebrity guest interviewed byJon 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 newDaily Show set. He appeared on theWeekend Update segment of the season 32 premiere ofSaturday Night Live, hosted byDane Cook. He then hosted a season 33 episode on November 3, 2007, becoming the first, and still only, sitting network news anchor to host the show.[65]
Williams appeared onSesame Street in a 2007 episode, announcing the word of the day, "squid", in a special broadcast. Williams appeared onSesame Street again in a 2008 episode, reporting forSesame Street Nightly News about the "mine-itis" outbreak, becoming a victim. He was also the host of the 2009 Annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala. The following season, he appeared in another episode "Lying Is Bad".
On February 22, 2010, while covering the Winter Olympics, Williams did a skit withBrian Williams, the Canadian sportscaster ofCTV Sports, on the CTV Olympic set.[66] 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.[67]
Williams regularly appeared onLate Night with Jimmy Fallon, where heslow jams the news of the previous week as Fallon sings and reiterates what Williams says, withThe Roots providing the musical backing. A mash-up video created by Fallon, where Williams appears torap to hip-hop instrumentals, became popular within a few hours.[68] Williams has also made numerous appearances onLate Show with David Letterman. During an appearance on July 26, 2011, he demonstrated a skilled vocal impersonation of TV personalityRegis Philbin. He has also appeared onLate Night with Conan O'Brien, where he took part in numerous skits and interviews.
And then I pull off my mask, and I'm alizard person, too. Blackout. End of episode.
Williams made frequent guest appearances on NBC's television comedy30 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 the30 Rock season 6 live show, Williams portrayed a news anchor covering the Apollo 13 story.[70]
Williams was the commencement speaker atBates College in May 2005,[71]The Catholic University of America in May 2004,[72]Ohio State University in June 2008,[73] and at theUniversity of Notre Dame in 2010.[74] In May 2012, he spoke at theGeorge Washington University commencement on theNational Mall.[75] He was the commencement speaker forElon University's graduating class of 2013, which included his son Douglas.[76]
Williams also collaborated on theEncyclopedia of World History from Backpack Books published in 2003.
Williams has written for publications includingThe New York Times[77] andTime magazine.[78]
Williams married Jane Gillan Stoddard, at the First Presbyterian Church ofNew Canaan, Connecticut, on June 7, 1986.[79] They have two children:Allison, an actress, and Doug, theWCBS-TV reporter and anchor and former late-night anchor ofGeico SportsNite onSportsNet New York.[80] Williams and his wife live in New Canaan,[81] and own a beach house inBay Head, New Jersey[82] and apied-à-terre inMidtown Manhattan.[83]
From 2006 to 2015, Williams was a member of the board of directors of the Medal of Honor Foundation; he resigned days after his suspension from NBC.[84]
| School | Date | Location | Degree | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic University of America | 15 May 2004 | District of Columbia | Doctor of Humane Letters | [85] |
| Bates College | 30 May 2005 | Maine | Doctor of Humane Letters | [86] |
| Ohio State University | 8 June 2008 | Ohio | Doctor of Journalism | [87] |
| University of Notre Dame | 16 May 2010 | Indiana | Doctor of Laws | [88] |
| Fordham University | 21 May 2011 | New York | Doctor of Humane Letters | [89] |
| George Washington University | 2012 | District of Columbia | Doctor of Humane Letters | [90] |
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| Year | Title | Role | First episode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Host | |
| 2009–12 | 30 Rock | Himself | The Ones | |
| 2013 | Family Guy | Himself | "Space Cadet" | Voice only |
| 2013 | The Soup | Himself | Himself |
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.
Graduated from Mater Dei, a Roman Catholic High School in New Monmouth, N.J.
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| Preceded by | Chief White House Correspondent ofNBC News 1994–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Weekday Anchor ofNBC Nightly News 2004–2015 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
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| Other | |
