This was something that crossed my mind when Brian Williams appeared on The Tonight Show in April to discuss Jimmy Fallon's repeated mixes of him and classic rap songs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDyt0M8Zecw), but I never really jumped on it in time. But with his latest appearance on The Tonight Show (Slow Jamming the immigration story at http://youtu.be/D25l1SWOF9M), the thought has crossed my mind again (though to a lower level than in April).
It's safe to say that Williams has been a regular on the entertainment side of the television world. I think he been a very good guest on Daily Show and Late Show, and I liked his brief pop-ups on 30 Rock (such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGW_guW7KbI). And the fundamental difference between the two is that I understand that there's a professional role (DS/LS) and where he's "playing" himself (30 Rock). Fundamentally (or theoretically), there's a boundary where I stop feeling comfortable with journalists doing non-journalistic things. For example, every second an alleged journalist spends at the White House Correspondents Dinner should count as a minute against that person's professional career. When Williams came on last April to "discuss" Fallon's repeated mixes of him, I started getting disconcerted with the capacity in which Williams was on the show. Was he being this character? Was he acting in his role as the anchor of NBC Nightly News? I wasn't sure, and I wasn't happy with the fact I wasn't sure. Fast forward to last night, when he was on the Slow Jam segment. I cannot remember (and look forward to being informed) if he's a regular in these segments (based on my quick research, he's not), but as I was watching this, complete with a reference to Baby Got Back, I got that feeling again. What Brian Williams am I seeing here? Admittedly, in the grand scheme of television journalism, I am aware this is a relative blip compared to the massive other issues facing that field. But I really respect, Williams, going back to The News With Brian Williams on MSNBC back in the day. And I feel like that respect is being eroded when he does this. I don't need a Cronkite. But these make me think Couric. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
