Logo

NY Post

Will the Brian Williams Situation Turn Into Another ‘Ann Curry’ for NBC? The Veteran Anchor Reportedly Is Refusing to Go Down Without a Fight

Apr 29, 2015  •  Post A Comment

NBC’s Brian Williams crisis could be about to get uglier, according to a new report in the New York Post. The paper reports: “Talks between the exiled anchor and NBCUniversal have recently become tense — with the 55-year-old newsman saying he will not have his ‘NBC Nightly News’ job taken away without a battle, The Post has learned.”

The report quotes a source close to NBC saying: “Brian is saying he’s not going down without a fight and [is] threatening to make it really ugly — worse than Ann Curry.” Curry’s ouster from NBC’s “Today” show back in 2013 generated an avalanche of bad publicity for the network, the news division, the show and host Matt Lauer. And Curry and Williams have something in common, the Post reports: They’re both represented by someone the paper calls “a pit bull lawyer” — Bob Barnett of Williams & Connolly.

The situation at NBC News appears to be getting more tense by the day. After we reported earlier this week that NBC’s internal investigation into Williams’ alleged misstatements had expanded, a subsequent report indicated that Williams’ prospects for returning to his job appeared to be diminishing.

One source quoted in the Post report indicated that NBC would prefer not to fire Williams. “They want Brian to resign,” the source told the publication. “If they have to fire him, they can’t control him.”

Meanwhile, ABC’s “World News Tonight” has been posting ratings gains while Lester Holt fills in for Williams on “Nightly News.” The ABC program has reportedly topped NBC’s broadcast — the perennial evening news leader — in total viewers for the past four weeks and in the key news demo of viewers 25-54 for the past three weeks.

But the network may not be banking on Williams’ return, even if it might help ratings. A friend of Williams told the Post: “NBC seems intent on damaging him. No one is speaking out in his defense.”

Please click on the link at the top of this story for additional details in the New York Post report.

nbc nightly news with brian williams

3 Comments

  1. How does NBC defend the indefensible?? Williams lied, exaggerated, Invented, WHATEVER you want to call it, multiple times. NBC already has major issues with the credibility of their news product. They can’t afford to have a “story teller” as their Nightly News Anchor.

  2. One thing is very odd in what Brian is apparently saying: there’s a very big difference between the shabby way Ann Curry was treated by the network, and Brian’s witless, irresponsible promulgation of fantasies and fabrications on a nightly news program. If Brian makes he departure “ugly,” it won’t be in the same way as what was forced upon Ann Curry, and he will not get the same kind of sympathy.

  3. Not sure why the Brian Williams witch hunt is happening. He didn’t exaggerate or lie during the news — he puffed up his role in events in his books, and in talk show appearances. Who among us hasn’t tweaked a few details when telling a good story? We’ve learned Bill O’Reilly has done the same in his books and talk show appearances, and no one seems to bat an eye. Bottom line: Brian Williams was good at his job, and NBC should stand behind him instead of throwing him under the bus.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)