Brian Williams' Future At NBC Still In Doubt

Andy Lack

Andrew Lack's return to NBC News as chairman has been greeted with relief by the rank and file at the division, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"It's exactly what the division needs," says one veteran NBC News producer. "Someone who can manage talent and someone who knows the news business."

NBC News president Deborah Turness introduced the 67-year-old Lack at the 9 a.m. meeting as a "special guest," at which point Lack, who was in the hall, poked his head into the third-floor executive conference room. He then proceeded to personally introduce himself to each of the 50 or so people who were in the room, including several he already knew from his previous stint as president of NBC News in the 1990s.

Brian Williams

Lack also attended the 2:30 p.m. Nightly News meeting, say sources, and was asking questions about how the show is put together. His return to NBC News has been accompanied by widespread speculation that he'll work to rehabilitate Brian Williams, who is currently serving a six-month suspension while NBC investigates what appears to be a pattern of misrepresenting his experiences in the field.

But sources at NBC News told THR that Lack has not made up his mind about whether Williams should return. And many inside the division continue to believe that Williams will not be reinstated to the Nightly News and may not return to NBC News at all. (Lester Holt, who is anchoring Nightly, has held a slim lead over ABC's World News Tonight With David Muir.)

Ultimately the decision will be made by Burke. In announcing Williams' suspension on Feb. 10, Burke noted that Williams "deserves a second chance, and we are rooting for him."

But with a presidential election looming, many wonder how a tarnished Williams fits in.

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