Brian Williams
Image Source: U.S. Navy photo by Journalist Seaman David Senn, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What was the Accusation?
Brian Williams, then anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, faced a major credibility controversy in February 2015 after U.S. military personnel challenged an account he had repeatedly given about his experience while covering the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Williams had described traveling aboard a military helicopter that was struck by rocket-propelled grenade fire and forced down. However, his original reporting from 2003 had placed him aboard a different helicopter, behind the aircraft that was hit. The discrepancy became a national story after Williams repeated the more dramatic version during a January 30, 2015 NBC Nightly News report honoring retired Command Sergeant Major Tim Terpak, a soldier Williams had met while covering the war.
In that report, Williams said that “the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG.” Members of the military unit involved in the mission subsequently challenged his account. PBS NewsHour, citing reporting by Stars and Stripes, reported that members of the 159th Aviation Regiment said Williams arrived later aboard another helicopter that had not been struck by the RPG. Williams acknowledged that his account was wrong. In an interview with Stars and Stripes, he said that he did not know what had caused him to conflate one aircraft with another. He also responded to military personnel on Facebook, acknowledging that they were right and that he had been aboard the Chinook behind the aircraft that was struck.
Williams addressed the controversy on the February 4, 2015 edition of NBC Nightly News. He told viewers that he had made a mistake in recalling events from twelve years earlier, apologized, and corrected the central factual claim by stating that he had been aboard a following aircraft rather than the helicopter struck by RPG fire. Williams characterized the false account as a “bungled attempt” to honor a veteran and other members of the military. His explanation nevertheless drew substantial criticism because accuracy and credibility were central to his position as the anchor of NBC’s flagship evening newscast.
The consequences extended beyond the initial apology. On February 7, Williams announced that he would temporarily remove himself from NBC Nightly News, saying that his actions had made him too much a part of the news. NBC News also began an internal review of his statements. On February 10, NBC suspended Williams without pay for six months. NBCUniversal chief executive Steve Burke said Williams had jeopardized the trust viewers placed in NBC News, while NBC News president Deborah Turness said Williams had misrepresented the Iraq incident. Lester Holt assumed Williams’s duties during his absence.
In June 2015, NBC announced that Williams would not return as anchor of NBC Nightly News and that Holt would permanently take over the broadcast. Williams remained with NBCUniversal in a reduced role at MSNBC. In his first major interview following the suspension, Williams acknowledged more broadly that he had said things that were not true and described ego as a factor in embellishing stories about his reporting experiences. He said he had wanted to make himself appear “sharper, funnier, quicker” and closer to events he had covered. At the same time, Williams maintained that he had not intended to mislead people. The controversy therefore developed from a correction of one Iraq War anecdote into a broader examination of Williams’s credibility, the accuracy of stories he told about his reporting career, and the standards expected of a prominent television journalist.
Key Apologia Strategies:
Mortification, Defeasibility, Good Intentions, Corrective Action
Video
N/A
Transcript
Brian Williams’ NBC Nightly News Apology (February 4, 2015):
On this broadcast last week, in an effort to honor and thank a veteran who protected me and so many others after a ground fire incident in the desert during the Iraq war invasion, I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago.
It did not take long to hear from some brave men and women in the air crews who were also in that desert.
I want to apologize. I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire. I was instead in a following aircraft.
We all landed after the ground fire incident and spent two harrowing nights in a sandstorm in the Iraq desert.
This was a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran and, by extension, our brave military men and women, veterans everywhere, those who have served while I did not.
I hope they know they have my greatest respect and also now my apology.
Sources
Barajas, J. (2015, February 4). NBC’s Brian Williams apologizes for false Iraq war story. PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/nbcs-brian-williams-apologizes-false-iraq-war-story
Bauder, D. (2015, February 10). NBC suspends anchor Brian Williams for six months. Associated Press/PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/nbc-suspends-anchor-brian-williams-six-months
Farhi, P. (2015, February 4). Brian Williams admits that his story of coming under fire while in Iraq was false. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/brian-williams-admits-that-his-story-of-coming-under-fire-while-in-iraq-was-false/2015/02/04/d7fe32d0-acc0-11e4-9c91-e9d2f9fde644_story.html
Kauffman, J. (2018). My ego made me do it: The image repair strategies of Brian Williams. Northwest Journal of Communication, 46(1), 87–107.
Stelter, B. (2015, June 19). Brian Williams: My ‘ego’ caused me to make things up. CNNMoney. https://money.cnn.com/2015/06/19/media/brian-williams-nbc-speaks-on-today-show/