NBC’s Brian Williams Demeans The Title of Network Anchor
Remember the days when nightly news anchors were supposed to be serious journalists? Apparently Brian Williams never got that memo. Appearing on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on August 15, the managing editor of NBC Nightly News showed the continuing decline of the gravitas of the broadcast news anchor.
Appearing on The Daily Show, Williams continued his routine of making awkward and inappropriate comments that even Jon Stewart seemed uncomfortable with. The NBC News veteran seems to find bestiality funny as he gleefully recalled anecdotes about his dog Qually to promote a segment on his primetime newsmagazine program Rock Center. [Video follow page break; MP3 audio here.]
Williams has been known for his at times awkward and inappropriate humor, as we here at NewsBusters have chronicled multiple times. Williams is the same NBC News anchor who thought calling someone a slut was hilarious and portrayin a character on the show 30 Rock that many consider to be the Eliot Spitzer of TV news.
Read the relevant transcript below and imagine a Cronkite or Murrow making such cracks on a comedy program.
Comedy Central
The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart
08/15/2012
11:22 p.m. EDT
JON STEWART: Welcome back, my guest tonight, the anchor and managing editor of "NBC Nightly News," The host of NBC’s Rock Center. Please welcome back to the program Brian Williams. They're just happy you're safe.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: How are you? A lot of excitement. Camera crews backstage. We're doing a little thing, do you know?
STEWART: Brian's show Rock Center is doing a story on our program. Well, not our program necessarily but.... .
WILLIAMS: No not at all about your program.
STEWART: You want to explain to them what you’re doing?
WILLIAMS: Were doing a story on the joy of having dogs in the workplace.
STEWART: We have dogs on the show.
WILLIAMS: Between Parker and Qually. Qually is my...
STEWART: Soul mate.
WILLIAMS: Soul mate. A furry love bucket which...
STEWART: Your relationship with Qually creeps everyone in the building out.
WILLIAMS: I get down on the floor with Qually as you’ll see on Rock Center Thursday’s at 10 on NBC.
STEWART: I see that. I’m aware.
WILLIAMS: I love me some Qually. He's sleeping now.
STEWART: Yeah yeah yeah.
WILLIAMS: After what just happened.
STEWART: I'm sure. That's going to be a tough one. We're going to... The nightmares when she sleeps now she just does this "Brian, no! No! Brian, no!" But Parker and Qually they're not the only two dogs. There are myriad dogs here, there are maybe eight. Baboo, Ali Greenberg who's a lovely Dalmatian.
WILLIAMS: I thought it was an intern. No?
STEWART: You never met Ali Greenberg.
WILLIAMS: No.
STEWART: Not an intern.
WILLIAMS: I think she was on the gymnastic team this last....
11:27 p.m. EDT.
STEWART: This seems to be an election tha is based on trying as best you can to suppress the voter turnout of your opponent. Whether it be through demeaning them or in the case of many of the Republican states just closing voting booths in black districts.
WILLIAMS: well when you talk to our political guys especially you know the people who live it just say look this is about 12 counties in the United States. Forget swing states. Forget regions. It's... It comes down 12 counties in the United States near here, Montgomery County near Philadelphia, because it represents so much. It's a science to them. The problem is the American people are really looking to cast a vote for someone they think is going to fix things the best and be good to us along the way.
STEWART: Okay. So who's that?
WILLIAMS: I wish I knew. I wish I knew. You know I don't do that kind of thing, Jon.
STEWART: I've seen what you do. I've seen the kind of things you do.
WILLIAMS: That’s between me and Qually.
STEWART: You stay away from that dog
