I'm torn because I too enjoy Williams as a talk show guest, but I also revere the position of news anchor. In the span of 50 years we went from Walter Cronkite being highly criticized for shedding a single tear when reporting the death of JFK to Brian Williams slow-jamming the news, and I'm not sure that's the right direction for TV journalism to take.
I liked Williams as anchor of his MSNBC newscast much more than his NBC Nightly News work. I think in his MSNBC years he was closer to Peter Jennings in style and content, and the hour-long format allowed him to take time on complex stories. On NBC I question which stories he chooses to spend time on and which get completely ignored. I guess I'd be more OK with Williams making his talk show rounds if I felt the work he was doing was good enough to allow for some fun on the side, but as with most TV journalism he's been lax in his obligations to report actual news. By lampooning himself or his business on talk shows, he's drawing attention to his own flaws, and I'm not sure that's the intended effect of it. On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 4:08 PM, Diner <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On Thursday, December 4, 2014 2:48:52 AM UTC-5, Joe Coughlin wrote: >> >> Yeah, this is in the lighten up category. Anchors aren't news robots >> who can and should do only one thing (though some do seem that way for >> sure). Brian Williams is a multi-dimensional person who has a really >> good sense of humor about himself. His ability to tell a joke or be in >> a sketch or to slow jam anything has zero to do about his ability to >> anchor a network newscast. >> >> > Agreed. But I want to add one more thing. > In March of last year, Brian did a terrific, hour-long interview on Alec > Baldwin's podcast "Here's the Thing." Brian said that when Lorne Michaels > asked him to host SNL in 2007, he took six months to decide, worried that > he would flush 25 years worth of credibility down the toilet. Everyone he > asked for advice gave him "a cautious yes." When he went to the SNL offices > for the last time to meet with Lorne, he met Chevy Chase in the hallway. > Brian said that after introducing himself, "I asked Chevy. His answer was > fascinating. He said 'I watched Dan Rather for twenty years, and the day he > retired I was no closer to knowing who he was than... the day he started. I > think you should do it.' And so Chevy, in a way he does not yet know, > decided that." > > -Tim > > -- > -- > 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. > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- -- 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.
