Brian Williams | The New York Observer

Verbose Meredith Vieira Shows Why Men Aren't the Only Virile Ones in News Biz

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:47:24 -0400

Shortly before taking the podium at the 2009 Matrix Awards ceremony honoring women in communications at the Waldorf Astoria on Monday, April 27, event emcee Meredith Vieira of NBC’s Today was explaining to the Daily Transom what female news anchors have over their male counterparts.

“You can’t totally stereotype it,” Ms. Vieira began, as if to soften the point she was about to make. “But there are some men that have a lot of sensitivity...

Jim Cramer, Nicholas Scoppetta, Men with Bagpipes Fete NBC's Brian Williams at FDNY Foundation Dinner

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:29:21 -0400

“By the way, that feline whitefish on a bagel, shmeared properly, is not so bad,” said Jim Cramer.

It was the night of Thursday, April 23, and the host of CNBC’s Mad Money was standing on a stage at the front of a ballroom in the New York Hilton, talking about what it was like to eat cat food on TV.

In front of him sat hundreds of guests in black-tie,...

Meet the Press Set Visit Goes for $1,500 at Charity Auction

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:28:32 -0500

"I'm going to put it on my mantle," said Christopher Andersen.

It was the night of Tuesday, Nov. 18, and Mr. Andersen was standing on the top deck of a multi-plateau ballroom in the Time Warner Center. Below him, hundreds of guests were strolling about sipping cocktails and inhaling mini-hamburgers.

Mr. Andersen was cradling in his hands a large bronze award statue. "Feel how heavy it is," said Mr. Andersen, pushing the award...

Survey: O’Reilly Most, Least Favorite Journalist; Brian Williams Equally Popular with Republicans and Democrats

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:39:01 -0500

On the heels of the Election, the Pew Research Center for People & the Press recently conducted a survey in which they asked Americans to name their favorite and least favorite TV journalists and anchors during the campaign.

Shockingly, the survey found that Republicans and Democrats differ in their taste for punditry. Republicans in the survey, for instance, made Fox News' Bill O'Reilly their top favorite (winning 9 percent of vote). Democrats made Mr....

Big Day in Englewood Cliffs

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:04:09 -0400

On the evening of Sept. 16, Brian Williams was jetting out of the CNBC studios in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., when he stopped to talk to a reporter about his extraordinary day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had plummeted 504.48 points in the most precipitous loss since September of 2001, dogged by news of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch’s hasty weekend sale to Bank of America, and A.I.G.’s still-uncertain future.

Brian Williams to Gulf Coast, Tom Brokaw to St. Paul, Keith Olbermann to New York

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:15:10 -0400

Tonight, Brian Williams will interview John McCain from the Gulf coast in the pathway of Hurricane Gustav for Sunday's Nightly News. In the meantime, Tom Brokaw will be heading up the network's coverage of the RNC convention in St. Paul.

Over at MSNBC, Dan Abrams will be anchoring the channel's primetime hurricane coverage on Sunday from a studio in New York. On Monday, Mr. Abrams will handoff to Keith Olbermann. Chris Matthews will be...

Bob Costas' Desperate Plea to Springsteen: 'Cover Our Butts'

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:21:20 -0400

The Huffington Post's Media page alerts us to a note from Bob Costas on NBC's 'The Daily Nightly' blog. In it, Mr. Costas apologizes to his colleague Brian Williams and Olympics superstar Michael Phelps for passing along an erroneous report that Bruce Springsteen had dedicated "Born in the U.S.A." to Mr. Phelps:

I had every reason to believe this information was accurate, and its source was reliable. In fact, I had intended to use it...

In Russert Wake, NBC News Seeks New D.C. Chief

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:01:24 -0400

On the morning of Sunday, June 22, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams made a much anticipated announcement at the end of Meet the Press, which he was moderating in the wake of Tim Russert’s sudden death of a heart attack nine days earlier.

“Beginning next week, my friend Tom Brokaw has agreed to step in as moderator of Meet the Press, to get us through this election...

Tom Brokaw to Moderate Meet the Press Through the End of the Election

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:14:22 -0400

Tom Brokaw, the former anchor of the NBC Nightly News, will moderate Meet the Press on Sunday mornings for the rest of the election year.

Brian Williams, the current anchor of the NBC Nightly News, made the announcement at the end of Sunday's Meet the Press.

Since the sudden passing of Tim Russert, there has been much speculation about who would take over the role as moderator of the number-one-rated Sunday morning public affairs...

Brian Williams to Host Meet the Press This Sunday

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:16:44 -0400

No long-term decisions have been made, but Brian Williams will host Meet the Press this Sunday.

His guests will include Lindsey Graham and Joseph Biden, the scheduled guests for Meet the Press on June 16 before Tim Russert's sudden death last week. Jacques Steinberg of The New York Times has the news from NBC's spokeswoman, Allison...

Morning Memo: Heidi Montag Kisses Off Correspondents' Dinner; Graydon Carter's Indoor-Air Act

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:04:11 -0400

Heidi Montag reportedly bailed on the White House Correspondents gala when MSNBC wouldn't adhere to the demands of her manager and boyfriend Spencer Pratt for first class tickets for the pair, even though only Ms. Montag was invited. [P6]

Padma Lakshmi is apparently cozying up with IMG owner Teddy Forstmann since her divorce from Salman Rushdie. [P6]

Graydon Carter lit up a cigarette in the presence of Mayor Bloomberg at his annual Tribeca Film Festival...

Race Not an Issue at Dem Debate

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:12:44 -0500

Brian Williams and Tim Russert came to tonight’s debate prepared to moderate—or perhaps to instigate—an argument over the role of race in the Democratic presidential campaign and the matter of who first introduced the subject.

But Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wanted none of it. And neither did an unknown member of the audience in Las Vegas, who interrupted the proceedings about 20 minutes in with loud castigations of the moderators and their...

MSNBC to Host Democrats' Debate on Jan. 15 in Vegas

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:41:34 -0500

On Tuesday Jan. 15, MSNBC will host a debate among Democratic presidential candidates live from Las Vegas.

According to today's announcement from MSNBC, the debate will focus on "issues important to minority voters" and will be sponsored a number of groups, including the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 100 Black Men of America, and the Democratic African-American Leadership Council.

Brian Williams and Tim Russert will moderate.

User generated questions remain all the rage this year....

Brian Williams Nurtures His Fan Base

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:16:35 -0500

Jasmine Moy, a young lawyer with a habit of volunteering on campaigns in her spare time, bumped into some NBC cameramen during primary season in Manchester, New Hampshire.

She found out what happens when you claim to be a fan of the network’s star anchor, Brian Williams.

He finds you.

Moy sent over this transcription of the voicemail she says she received from Williams:

"Hey Jasmine, this is Brian Williams....

Andrew Tyndall: NBC has "Deepest Bench" in TV News

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:36:54 -0500

The Politico's Michael Calderone (formerly of Media Mob fame) recently caught up with a bunch of broadcast news bigwigs in Iowa.

Along the way, NBC's Brian Williams talked up his belief in the advantage for NBC of having a sibling cable news outlet providing plenty of real estate for its anchors and correspondents to appear throughout the day.

"Williams noted that NBCs advantage for 2008 is having a cable news network, MSNBC, working round...

More on Those Cuts at NBC

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:24:43 -0500

Over the last few weeks, we've learned from several reports that NBC is planning a series of layoffs at NBC News and MSNBC. Today, TV Newser provides some names.

According to the site, Davidson Goldin, MSNBC's editorial director; Amy Rosenblum, the senior producer of the 10am hour of The Today Show; Joe Alicastro, a veteran NBC News producer; and Jean Harper, a senior prodcuer at Nightly News who has worked with...

Russert Goes Berserk as Clinton Snuffs Archives

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:57:09 -0500

A couple of weeks ago, during a Democratic presidential debate on MSNBC, two men claiming to be journalists threw wilted lettuce and decomposed organic material at the candidates. Judging from the questions aimed at the candidate/victims, the purpose of the networks sponsoring these debates is to bait, bully and embarrass while giving the news celebrities a chance to make themselves appear superior to the dumbkins running for president. If the people putting on this...

Did Williams' SNL Appearance Gives NBC News a Ratings Boost? Signs Point to Yes!

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:14:28 -0500

The Huffington Post notes that NBC Nightly News had almost a million more viewers last week than the week before, putting it back on top in the ratings--and attributes the bump, plausibly, to anchor Brian Williams' much-hyped November 3 appearance on Saturday Night Live.

The obvious lesson the networks will draw is that the best way to promote their news anchors to a younger audience is by putting them on shows that young...

Giuliani, Brian Williams, Sept. 11

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:35:13 -0500

In case you missed it, here's a clip of Rudy Giuliani’s recent interview with Brian Williams.

When asked about his personal feelings about Hillary Clinton, Giuliani said he knew her well. In fact, he said, “I got to know her actually, probably the best, during September 11.”

Somewhere, Joe Biden was smiling.

...

National Titan, Local Supplicant

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 10:13:18 -0400

Coming out of the train on the way to City Hall this morning, I spotted two guys on a bench behind the building, chatting away casually.

The guys, it turns out, were Michael Bloomberg and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. With the mayor's green initiatives, it's no surprise he's getting national attention.

But it's unclear if any of it will actually help with getting his congestion pricing plan approved in Albany. ...

The Time 100 Double-Helix

Wed, 09 May 2007 10:40:51 -0400

“I’ve met an estimated 56 of 100,” said NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, surveying the crowd at last night’s Time 100 gala. “I always assumed I might come as a guest but not a lapel-wearing member.”

Oh, Mr. Williams, don't be so modest! Or quite so serious, either: he said he was most looking forward to meeting Elie Wiesel, author of Night.

When guests include the likes of Cate Blanchett, Martha Stewart, Michael J....

The Apprentice's Sorcerer

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 19:00:00 -0500

Last week, after 39-year-old Jeff Zucker was crowned president of the newly merged NBC Universal Television Group--now the biggest broadcasting company in America--the only question remaining for the NBC loyalists under Mr. Zucker’s management was: Why stop there? “I think Jeff would settle for President of the United States,” said Lawrence O’Donnell, a writer for NBC’s The West Wing, talking about Mr. Zucker’s insatiable ambition. “He might take a rest after that.” But Mr....

Carter's Breakup on NBC Nightly News: Survivor Guilt?

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:21:11 -0500

Brian Williams stood up for Jimmy Carter Monday by airing a wonderful scene from the Carter Center over the weekend. At some panel convened by Williams, Carter volunteered a scene at Camp David with Anwar Sadat that is apparently not in his book. Sadat was leaving. Carter changed into a suit and tie, knelt in his room and prayed to God for guidance, then went into Sadat's room and, surrounded by suitcases, asked Sadat's...

Presidential Funeral Affords Three Sightings of Wandering Sage, Brokaw

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 04:07:33 -0500

NBC Nightly News last night offered three separate soundbites of Tom Brokaw, first in its opening coverage of the Ford funeral, then in an interview by Brian Williams, then in a special section of excerpts of eulogies. The royal placement, which gave even Henry Kissinger lower billing, continues the NBC pattern, of wheeling Brokaw in to hold forth (usually predictably) on major events, and would seem to reflect Brokaw's reluctance to let go and...

Life of Brian

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 20:00:00 -0400

“Touch my Peabody,” Brian Williams said.

The award sits on a small glass table by the door of the NBC Nightly News anchor’s third-floor office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Mr. Williams won the prize this year for NBC’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the national calamity during which the boy-journalist personally groomed by Tom Brokaw demonstrated that he was finally an Anchorman: the mature face of a major network, a manly monument around...

Life of Brian

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 20:00:00 -0400

“Touch my Peabody,” Brian Williams said. The award sits on a small glass table by the door of the NBC Nightly News anchor’s third-floor office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Mr. Williams won the prize this year for NBC’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the national calamity during which the boy-journalist personally groomed by Tom Brokaw demonstrated that he was finally an Anchorman: the mature face of a major network, a manly monument around which the...

The Double Issue: Everyone, Everything, Everywhere

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 07:35:41 -0400

We're peeling ourselves off the sticky floor over here to head off for a week of vacation. Don't be sad! Today's double issue is crammed full of enough stuff to keep you occupied on the crapper for the next two weeks. First-year banking boys enjoyed their coke-snorting, hot-dog-eating summers just fine; L.A. sucks and Lindsay Lohan will go for a sister's neck; The Martignetti brothers, of the LES's Martignetti Liquors, are opening a restaurant; there...

The Iraq Orphanage Story--Does NBC Have a Moral Obligation to Help These Girls?

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 05:50:45 -0400

Ten days ago I praised Richard Engel's beautiful and amazing story on NBC Nightly News about a Baghdad orphanage for girls whose parents had died because of the war we started. I was hardly alone. Last night Brian Williams said that the network had been overwhelmed by emails and calls about the story. The network then did something great: it reaired the story. You will see that it has top billing on the NBC...

A Foolish Consistency on NBC

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 17:43:12 -0400

Tonight the NBC Nightly News doggedly began its broadcast with a report from the levees of New Orleans at the onset of hurricane season rather than where CBS and ABC began: with the Haditha massacre and the European-U.S. coalition visavis Iran. By such choices, Brian Williams is hewing to the position he took at a forum of the news media in Harlem some weeks back (on C-Span), when he asserted that NBC was committed to...

Tower of Mike

Sun, 28 May 2006 20:00:00 -0400

“It’s better than having an Applebee’s in the lobby,” said Brian Williams, the NBC anchor who lives 34 stories above the restaurant Le Cirque, in the Bloomberg building at 58th Street and Lexington Avenue. “Nothing against Applebee’s!” Mr. Williams added. He stood almost inch-deep in the restaurant’s plush crimson carpeting, next to a model of the building complex that had been somewhat crudely constructed from chocolate, never the perfect building material, as some 2,000...

Bono's African Hunger Tour on NBC

Mon, 22 May 2006 20:11:37 -0400

We're pathetic. Brian Williams is in Africa for NBC Nightly News to report on the AIDS crisis and the focus of his piece is Bono of U2, his visit. What a great man he is, what an investment he's made in Africa. Act I. Bono in his black shirt and rockstar spectacles, thumbwrestling with an African child. Act II. Williams and British Treasury Minister Gordon Brown—whom Williams touts as the likely successor to Tony...

How Emotionally Insecure Is Bush?

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 17:25:47 -0400

George Bush didn't look comfortable at his press conference today. He kept getting a nervous smile, he kept making awkward jokes. Like, he told the ballsy David Gregory of NBC that he wouldn't offer him a job at the White House, "you wouldn't pass the background check!" Then when he realized it was inappropriate—no one laughed—Bush said "That was a cheap shot" and promptly withdrew the crack. Right after that he threw his arms...

The God That Failed

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 20:04:49 -0400

After Peter Jennings's death I made the Pepsi switch to NBC because Brian Williams seems real and knows how to turn a phrase. Tonight, though, he lost me with a report on a movie about Flight 93, a movie in which NBC has a financial interest. What a manipulative piece of pap. The report began with people expressing shock and dismay at the graphic trailer for the film. Then it moved to survivors of...

Beacon Bounty

Wed, 02 Nov 2005 12:33:00 -0500

For $30.5 million, one wealthy buyer can look down on the endless list of celebrities who have already purchased condos at One Beacon Court. The 8,000-square-foot, full-floor spread on the 55th Floor is now on the market. Currently the ritzy building's most expensive apartment was sold to record mogul Alan Meltzer for $27 million. The growing list of the notable names includes Beyonce, Brian Williams, former G.E chief executive Jack Welch, and recently, current...

Hugh McCracken, Ace Ombudsman

Sun, 18 Sep 2005 20:00:00 -0400

Like usual, I been a-eyein’ them newspapers and them TV news programs, and I’m a-here to tell ye I do not like what I been seein’. Let’s start at The New York Times for this here column. How’s that suit ye? Little lady name of Curtis Sittenfeld had a Op-Ed article t’other day. Who is Miss Sittenfeld? She’s a lady scribbler who done wrote a book about the dirty business the young ’uns’ll get...