By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, February 10, 2015
I set the bar fairly high for national TV news that has no Atlanta connections. Two decidedly big news stories broke this evening virtually at the same time and I'd be remiss not to at least mention them:
- Brian Williams, the NBC "Nightly News" anchor, was suspended without pay for six months.
For the past week, he went from one of the most trusted newsman in America to a punching bag over his shifting stories about a helicopter ride in Baghdad in 2003. He admitted he made a blunder but the mistake turned a lot of people against him and created doubts about other stories he's told. This proves that integrity is a fragile thing in deed, especially in journalism, which is not a world that is highly trusted anymore anyway.
He originally reported he was behind a helicopter that was hit by enemy fire. By the time he told David Letterman the story in 2013 and repeated it again last month, he was in the helicopter that got hit. Pilots who were there said he was dead wrong.
Considered the "face" of NBC News, he is paid $10 million a year for NBC so this will cost him (or on the other hand, save NBC) $5 million. It's too soon to tell how this will impact the "Nightly News" ratings. Lester Holt will cover for him now.
NBC News president Deborah Turness, in a memo to staff, noted:
In addition, we have concerns about comments that occurred outside NBC News while Brian was talking about his experiences in the field.
As Managing Editor and Anchor of Nightly News, Brian has a responsibility to be truthful and to uphold the high standards of the news division at all times.
Steve Burke, CEO of NBC News, didn't mince words in his statement:
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
About the same time NBC made that announcement, Comedy Central confirmed that Jon Stewart is planning to leave "The Daily Show" later this year after 16 years on the satirical news show.
He tended to delight liberals far more than conservatives, mocking Fox News far more than, say, MSNBC. He also had plenty of fun at the expense of Atlanta-based CNN over the years. (Don Lemon anyone?). And for some reason, he took special delight going after Atlanta-based Arby's for its edibles (or in his mind, inedibles.)
Politicians, including Jimmy Carter, Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee, have appeared on the show. And even Bill O'Reilly of Fox News has been happy to spar with Stewart.
The show was far less political under Craig Kilborn from 1996 to 1999. The Al Gore-George Bush election imbroglio in 2000 helped place "The Daily Show" on the map. Many people admit they get most of their "news" from his show and that of the Stephen Colbert show before he left the scene recently for CBS.
Stewart also has nurtured comedy correspondents who became bigger stars after he left, including Steve Carell, Ed Helms, Olivia Munn, Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle and John Oliver, who subbed for Stewart last year while he was directing a film "Rosewater" and is now on HBO.
Now the guessing game of who will replace him begins. Interestingly, Brian Williams has enjoyed entertainment, showing up on talk shows and hosting "Saturday Night Live." If he is too damaged to continue at NBC News, could he host "The Daily Show"? Or would that be too weird?
Names thrown out on social media include a lot of women such as buddies Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, current correspondents Jessica Williams and Samantha Bee, occasional visitor Kristen Schaal, Sarah Silverman, former correspondent Olivia Munn, Margaret Cho and existing Comedy Central franchise Amy Schumer. Other names: W. Kamau Bell (who already tried a comedy news satire show on FXX a couple years ago), comic and talk show host Aisha Tyler and Hannibal Burress. Aasif Mandvi, another current correspondent, could do a good job, too.
It's also just as likely a relative unknown (like Larry Wilmore replacing Stephen Colbert) could take over.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
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