‘Today Show’: Brian Williams explains comments, departure from NBC Nightly News with Matt Lauer

As far as big TV interviews go, the one featuring Matt Lauer and Brian Williams on “The Today Show” Friday morning has been a long time coming. This was a man who was placed on indefinite suspension many months ago after embellishing a story about his time in Iraq, and he has since become a punchline for many and a symbol of lost trust for others.

Today, he had a chance to right many wrongs, even if it must have been awkward sitting there with Lauer, another famed NBC newscaster who he has probably developed a personal relationship with for many years. Maybe you could say that the interview would have been more unbiased had it come with a different network attached, but to Lauer’s credit we feel like he was fairly tough, and did not let Brian off the hook at any point just because of their history.

Honestly, we don’t think Williams came off that well. While he apologized and explained that he often chose by “ego” to leave his responsibilities as NBC Nightly News anchor behind when he would appear on late-night talk shows, he also declined to say whether or not he had lied on the air on any previous occasion. It felt like at times he danced around questions rather than actually answering them.

Is Williams talented as a news anchor? Very. He is probably one of the busy living today when it comes to delivering the news and gathering information. However, none of that matters if there is just a measure of doubt with whether or not the person delivering it is completely genuine. This is the struggle for Williams moving forward.

Do you think that Williams handled his appearance on the show correctly? Share with a comment.