NBC News Suspends Brian Williams

Brian Williams

NBC News is suspending managing editor and Nightly News anchor Brian Williams for six months, without pay, in the wake of an internal review of comments about his experiences in the early days of the Iraq war.

In a memo to the entire staff, NBC News president Deborah Turness announced the decision, saying it was effective immediately.

"We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News," said Turness.

Holt has been filling in for Williams since Monday after the anchor voluntarily took a leave of absence following growing controversy over his telling of an anecdote from 2003.

In a piece on Jan. 30 on Nightly News, Williams took Command Sergeant Major Tim Terpak, who just retired with three bronze stars, to a New York Rangers hockey game, where the vet was honored with a standing ovation by some 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden.

In honoring Terpak, Williams told the story of his helicopter being hit by an RPG, but that wasn't accurate.

On last Wednesday's Nightly News, Williams admitted, "I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago."

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Turness said the review of the Williams situation "is ongoing."

NBC News president Deborah Turness informed staffers of the network's decision at a meeting shortly after Williams' fill-in, Lester Holt, finished anchoring the "NBC Nightly News."

Here is her full written statement released by NBC:

All, 

We have decided today to suspend Brian Williams as Managing Editor and Anchor of NBC Nightly News for six months. The suspension will be without pay and is effective immediately. We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News. 

Our review, which is being led by Richard Esposito working closely with NBCUniversal General Counsel Kim Harris, is ongoing, but I think it is important to take you through our thought process in coming to this decision. 

While on Nightly News on Friday, January 30, 2015, Brian misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003. It then became clear that on other occasions Brian had done the same while telling that story in other venues. This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian's position. 

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, Pat Fili and I came to this decision together. We felt it would have been wrong to disregard the good work Brian has done and the special relationship he has forged with our viewers over 22 years. Millions of Americans have turned to him every day, and he has been an important and well-respected part of our organization. 

As I'm sure you understand, this was a very hard decision. Certainly there will be those who disagree. But we believe this suspension is the appropriate and proportionate action. 

This has been a difficult time. But NBC News is bigger than this moment. You work so hard and dedicate yourselves each and every day to the important work of bringing trusted, credible news to our audience. Because of you, your loyalty, your dedication, NBC News is an organization we can -- and should -- all be proud of. 

We will get through this together. 

Steve Burke asked me to share the following message: 

"This has been a painful period for all concerned and we appreciate your patience while we gathered the available facts. By his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News. His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate. Brian's life's work is delivering the news. I know Brian loves his country, NBC News and his colleagues. He deserves a second chance and we are rooting for him. Brian has shared his deep remorse with me and he is committed to winning back everyone's trust."

Deborah

A friend who spoke to Williams on Tuesday described him as "shattered." The episode has called into question not only the credibility of Williams but also the ethics and culture at NBC News. It's not clear whether other people at NBC were aware of Williams's version of events.

So how much pay is Williams out?   Williams' annual salary is reported to be $10 million (or around $192,307 per week), so, doing the math that works out to slightly more than $5 million for embellishing the news.