In the wake of a six month suspension for NBC anchor Brian Williams, ABC and CBS on Wednesday offered mocking coverage of their competitor's downfall. New York Times reporter David Carr appeared on CBS This Morning to deride: "...Everyone, including Brian, thought he was maybe too big to fail...Turns out, he's not the most important thing."
Although Carr allowed that the NBC anchor is "very likable," he snapped, "[Williams] made some very, very dumb decisions." Skeptical co-host Gayle King didn't seem to buy the idea that the veteran journalist could simply return in six months, wondering, "If we don't see him for six months, how can he redeem himself? How should he redeem himself? What can he do?"
Carr concluded that NBC may "decide they can't get there from here" and Williams has made his final appearance.
Over on ABC, David Wright mostly offered a straightforward recounting of the latest developments. But at the conclusion of his report, he noted, "Brian Williams had just signed a new contract, reportedly worth $10 million." Speaking of Williams's serial exaggerations, he joked, "So this is at the very least a $5 million mistake."
For days, the journalists at NBC's Today mostly ignored the embarrassment engulfing the network. On Wednesday, reporter Peter Alexander finally offered a full report, explaining, "The suspension follows nearly two weeks of scrutiny and uncertainty in the wake of comments that Brian Williams made about his experience covering the early days of the Iraq war in 2003."
A partial transcript of the February 11 CBS This Morning segment, which aired at 8:05am ET, is below:
CHARLIE ROSE: NBC said a suspension is severe and appropriate, but that "he deserves a second chance and we're rooting for him," Steve Burke said. What do you make of this?
DAVID CARR: I couldn't agree more. I think what he did was a huge problem, hurt the network, hurt the people around him. He bungled his attempt to apologize. I think, to begin with, everyone including Brian thought he was maybe too big to fail. Number one anchor, almost 10 million viewers. Turns out he's not the most important thing. The credibility of the news division had to be protected under all circumstances and his path back to that chair is uncertain, as you might have guessed.
CHARLIE ROSE: But it's possible.
CARR: It's possible and I think it's good to leave that door open. This is an incredibly likable person. I mean, nobody's rooting against him. He made some very, very dumb decisions, but let's see what he can do.GAYLE KING: That's what everybody says, David. He's so well liked. He is so well respected in this industry and many still can't believe this has happened to him. So, if we don't see him for six months, how can he redeem himself? How should he redeem himself? What can he do?
CARR: This is without precedence in American broadcast history. We even never seen a big suspension of a well known anchor like this. We don't know what a comeback looks like. There's no playbook under way, so they're going to have to make it up as they go along. They may decide they can't get there from here, but who knows what else they'll come up with.
JEFF GLOR: So much has happened in six days. How does something more not happen in six months?
CARR: Yeah. It just -- well, taking a breath, number one, you're going to see the full expanse of, of what he did and will there be a drip, drip, drip, or will -- at a certain point it will pivot to the other things he's done. I think the tragedy here is he was a number one anchor in the nation. Everybody loved his work. But he -- somehow that wasn't enough. He had to go and do all these other things.
