I waited several days before writing this column because you had to figure the hammer was going to fall on Brian Williams. I feel compelled to say who he is, because I’ve been asking people what they think of his situation and what should be done about it over the past week, and six people have said they don’t recognize his name (which is a some statement about news in today’s world). To clear this up, he is the anchor for the NBC Evening News.
Ten years ago, 95% of the U.S. population would have known the names of the anchors for NBC, ABC and CBS, but that is not true anymore. Now, you ask someone what s/he thinks should happen to Brian Williams based on his misleading/lying about a news (and perhaps more than one) incident, and you get back from some people, “Who’s that?” Or, “What did he do?”
So, we have a network news anchor with a huge credibility issue, caught in a probable outright lie (and perhaps more than once). Here’s the question I posed to others since the story broke, “What would you do if you were the head of NBC News?”
We now have the answer, since at the time this column was written, Williams has been suspended without pay for the next six months. If other allegations hold water during that time period, he could be fired. Or, if the public is forgiving, and NBC stands behind Williams, he could be reinstated.
Still, it’s fair to consider what you would do if you had authority over him. Would you immediately fire him? The journalistic purist position, and the response of about a third of the people to my impromptu question was answered “yes.” (The second most common answer was, “I like Brian Williams.” The third most common response was, “Who is Brian Williams?”).
Would you have suspended Williams? Would you accept his public apology and let him stay in his position after a cool-down period?
NBC’s decision shows you the fine line between keeping a “celebrity” news anchor on board vs. making “credibility” of the news the most important bottom line consideration. The rating of the show comes into consideration.
One person I queried on this subject mentioned listening to talk radio and he was astounded to hear the number of callers who adored Brian Williams, and stated they would stop watching NBC news if he was pulled as host. Whether that would really happen is another question, but it shows us the dilemma faced when the news face is popular. Does popularity win out over what is right?
The news is no longer (and hasn’t been for years) about reporting what is going on in the world. It is about making money. How the “show” gets crafted reflects those dynamics.
A news anchor draws viewers in based on a smiling face, looks, tone-of-voice and general sense that people trust him or her. The decision NBC made (and could change in the months ahead) is not about ethics. They are thinking about bottom line numbers and what it means to their profits.
Money trumps journalism. People aren’t looking for the truth or to delve into an issue in-depth. They seek entertainment, to find out something new or unusual, with a passing interest in an event if it pushes their curiosity button.
Mostly, we want things to work fine, and all the horrific stuff going on in the world to occur anywhere but in our back yard. And we want to be told that by a nice guy like Brian Williams.
And that’s NBC’s dilemma: Credibility vs. Popularity.
Ten years ago, 95% of the U.S. population would have known the names of the anchors for NBC, ABC and CBS, but that is not true anymore. Now, you ask someone what s/he thinks should happen to Brian Williams based on his misleading/lying about a news (and perhaps more than one) incident, and you get back from some people, “Who’s that?” Or, “What did he do?”
So, we have a network news anchor with a huge credibility issue, caught in a probable outright lie (and perhaps more than once). Here’s the question I posed to others since the story broke, “What would you do if you were the head of NBC News?”
We now have the answer, since at the time this column was written, Williams has been suspended without pay for the next six months. If other allegations hold water during that time period, he could be fired. Or, if the public is forgiving, and NBC stands behind Williams, he could be reinstated.
Still, it’s fair to consider what you would do if you had authority over him. Would you immediately fire him? The journalistic purist position, and the response of about a third of the people to my impromptu question was answered “yes.” (The second most common answer was, “I like Brian Williams.” The third most common response was, “Who is Brian Williams?”).
Would you have suspended Williams? Would you accept his public apology and let him stay in his position after a cool-down period?
NBC’s decision shows you the fine line between keeping a “celebrity” news anchor on board vs. making “credibility” of the news the most important bottom line consideration. The rating of the show comes into consideration.
One person I queried on this subject mentioned listening to talk radio and he was astounded to hear the number of callers who adored Brian Williams, and stated they would stop watching NBC news if he was pulled as host. Whether that would really happen is another question, but it shows us the dilemma faced when the news face is popular. Does popularity win out over what is right?
The news is no longer (and hasn’t been for years) about reporting what is going on in the world. It is about making money. How the “show” gets crafted reflects those dynamics.
A news anchor draws viewers in based on a smiling face, looks, tone-of-voice and general sense that people trust him or her. The decision NBC made (and could change in the months ahead) is not about ethics. They are thinking about bottom line numbers and what it means to their profits.
Money trumps journalism. People aren’t looking for the truth or to delve into an issue in-depth. They seek entertainment, to find out something new or unusual, with a passing interest in an event if it pushes their curiosity button.
Mostly, we want things to work fine, and all the horrific stuff going on in the world to occur anywhere but in our back yard. And we want to be told that by a nice guy like Brian Williams.
And that’s NBC’s dilemma: Credibility vs. Popularity.