NBC is planning
to announce on Thursday that Brian Williams will not return to his position as
the anchor of its “Nightly News” show, four months after the network suspended
him for exaggerating his role in a helicopter incident in Iraq, according to
two people briefed on the discussions.
Mr.
Williams is expected to move to a new role primarily at the cable news network
MSNBC, probably in a breaking-news capacity in the beginning, according to one
of the people.
Lester
Holt, who has been filling in for Mr. Williams as anchor, will take on the
position permanently, one person said.
NBC
could not be reached for comment. Mr. William’s lawyer, Robert Barnett,
declined to comment. News of the decision was first reported by
The new
role is a humbling comedown for Mr. Williams, who before the controversy was
one of the countries most prominent and respected broadcast journalists.
Until
early February, Mr. Williams, 56, was riding high as the No. 1 nightly news
anchor, drawing close to 10 million viewers a night. His popularity extended
beyond the anchor’s chair; with a quick wit and engaging manner, he was a
coveted speaker at dinners and panels, and a frequent celebrity guest on
entertainment shows.
But on
his newscast on Feb. 4, Mr. Williams admitted that he had embellished his
account of being on a helicopter that was hit by enemy fire in 2003, and
apologized to viewers. The response put him and NBC on the defensive; military
veterans took him to task, and media commentators and viewers claimed he had
lost the trust so critical to a network news anchor. On Feb.
10, Mr. Williams was suspended for six months without pay.
Has laoreet percipitur ad. Vide interesset in mei, no his legimus verterem. Et nostrum imperdiet appellantur usu, mnesarchum referrentur id vim.
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