The signal is unmistakable; NBC has decided to dump Brian Williams. That signal came in today's New York Times in a column by Maureen Dowd. This is what the Dragon Lady had to say:
NBC executives were warned a year ago that Brian Williams was constantly inflating his biography. They were flummoxed over why the leading network anchor felt that he needed Hemingwayesque, bullets-whizzing-by flourishes to puff himself up, sometimes to the point where it was a joke in the news division.
But the caustic media big shots who once roamed the land were gone, and “there was no one around to pull his chain when he got too over-the-top,” as one NBC News reporter put it.
There is no way that this story would leak if the "NBC executives" did not want it to do so. They are laying the foundation for the announcement later this week or next that "Brian has decided to retire to spend more time with his family." Most likely, Williams will sit at home and watch reruns of the awful remake of Peter Pan starring his daughter.
It won't be enough. If Dowd's story is correct, then NBC has been knowingly putting the truth-challenged anchor on the air for years. Either it is time to admit that network news lacks all integrity or it is time to restore some integrity to that endeavor. My guess is that neither will happen, but now America can know for sure that the former is true.
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