This past week, Brian
Williams, the anchor of NBC Nightly News, has announced that he is taking a
leave of absence. He released a press statement announcing this:
In the midst of a career spent covering and consuming news, it
has become painfully apparent to me that I am presently too much a part of the
news, due to my actions.
As
Managing Editor of NBC Nightly News, I have decided to take myself off of my
daily broadcast for the next several days, and Lester Holt has kindly agreed to
sit in for me to allow us to adequately deal with this issue. Upon my return, I
will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who
place their trust in us.
Williams official address to the matter (while on the air) can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW6AbX2q0fM
This
development is all stemming from an incident that occurred a decade ago, in the
Iraq war:
"NBC
Nightly News anchor Brian Williams admitted Wednesday he was not aboard a
helicopter hit and forced down by RPG fire during the invasion of Iraq in 2003,
a false claim that has been repeated by the network for years.
Williams
repeated the claim Friday during NBC’s coverage of a public tribute at a New
York Rangers hockey game for a retired soldier that had provided ground
security for the grounded helicopters, a game to which Williams accompanied
him. In an interview with Stars and Stripes, he said he had misremembered the
events and was sorry."
Williams had even previously gone on David Letterman recounting
the story, in the now infamous interview:
Considered
the "golden boy" of nightly news, this is surprising. The beloved
anchor has all but always avoided scandal since taking the mantle from Tom
Brokaw. The once close allies are apparently not feuding, with reports that
Brokaw now wants Williams to be fired
While this is more
speculation than fact, it is an interesting development.
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The question that I am
wondering is why is this such a big issue? When have news networks now become
the beacon of truth? I certainly can name a few news anchors that publish and
run misleading, or even completely fake stories. Turn on FoxNews at any point
of the day for evidence. The news in general follows the ideology that big
stories get the most money, and the juicier the details, even if
fabricated, present the highest viewership. Jon Stewart often mocks
this ideology. Since news networks distort facts on a daily basis,
why is Williams getting in trouble when he's the only guy to ever admit it?
Through the "controversy,"
Williams has gotten all the attention. The news he lead is now being plotted
against him. He is singled out. The vessel for which gets all the blame. As
Machin and Mayer discuss, "Van Dijk (1993) has shown that how the news
aligns us alongside or against people can be thought of as what he calls
'ideological squaring'. He shows how. . . choices to create opposites, to make
events and issues appear simplified in order to control their meaning"
(78). The media has controlled this story and made it all about Brian Williams.
Why are they not taking this opportunity to look are more individuals and
instances of news fraud? Why are they not coming together and holding everyone
accountable? It seems that Brian Williams is being thrown under the bus by his
own colleagues. Brian Williams is the individual that is being attacked, rather
than the news as a collective, an idea that Machin and Mayer elaborate on.
This issue has been touched
on, but not to the extent that I would like to see. Geraldo Rivera, a man I
don't often quote, is one of the few to come to the aid of Williams:
There is definitely a lot
to unpack on this issue, and a number of different angles that could be
elaborated on. The media and its portrayal of others. The power of the media
and how quickly they can destroy a man's career when they choose to. Another interesting point was that the Geraldo piece used the verb "attacking" in its title. This is ironic, given that this whole situation stems from an actual terrorist attack on an American helicopter. I've only looked at the tip of the iceberg, and there is more
discussion to be had in the future.
