Brian Williams, Lester Holt make statements on NBC shakeup

Today, NBC finally confirmed news that was a long time coming: While Brian Williams will return to NBC News, it will not be as a lead anchor for the Nightly News. Instead, he will handle some breaking news reports, and work primarily with cable network MSNBC. Lester Holt, who has taken over for Williams following his indefinite suspension earlier this year, has been named lead anchor. This is a historic announcement, making Holt the first African-American man to be lead anchor for a major network newscast.

Before we get to anything else, let’s get to the first official statement from Williams, where he addressed the fact that he embellished stories about his time in Iraq. When the nature of these embellishments was made public, all of his past reporting became scrutinized:

“I’m sorry … I said things that weren’t true. I let down my NBC colleagues and our viewers, and I’m determined to earn back their trust.”

“Trust” is obviously the operating word here, since being a network newscast relies almost completely on this. Many viewers felt hurt by Williams’ embellishments previously, and there was a time when it was looking like he would eventually leave NBC News altogether.

As reported earlier, Williams is tentatively scheduled to be featured Friday on “The Today Show,” as he sat down for an interview with Matt Lauer earlier in the week. However, the plans for this interview are contingent on breaking news coverage of the tragic shooting that took place in Charleston, South Carolina this week. Many anchors are already in the process of traveling there.

Do you think that NBC is making the right move when it comes to both Holt and Williams’ roles moving forward? Share below, and head over here to get some other TV news on all we cover, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)