> The NY Times has a background story (with, of course, no attribution
> whatsoever, so you know NBC pushed this to them) with the timeline of how
> it went down.

My favorite line from that story:

"Mr. Burke acted decisively, according to one person, telling his
colleagues to gather the facts so that they could make an expeditious but
fair decision."

What a wonderful guy.

> But if the evidence remains as it is, and Williams does not
> survive the controversy it will not be because he has been
> proven to be a liar, but because NBC could not find the
> courage and competence to manage the PR storm.

Williams doesn't have to be proved a liar. He just has to lose the trust of
the audience. Whether his misstatements are "innocent" false memories, or
deliberate attempts at self-aggrandizement, if viewers no longer believe
him, they'll turn to other newscasts.

The stuff about how this pales compared to how TV news misreported the big
stories is reminiscent of "The real scandal is what's legal." While that's
often true in regard to congressional corruption, it doesn't mean illegal
activities shouldn't be prosecuted. Similarly, getting away with reporting
other peoples' incorrect statements as fact doesn't excuse reporters who
make their own incorrect statements.

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