Hollywood Breakdown
Brian Williams Will Stay at NBC, but in a Demoted Role
NBC has announced that Brian Williams will be coming back, but not as the host of Nightly News. Instead he'll be reporting breaking news on MSNBC. Lester Holt, who has been filling in at Nightly News since Williams was suspended, will become the full-time anchor of the show.
By Kim Masters • • 3m ListenIn baseball terms, Brian Williams is being sent down to the minors. The former host of NBC's Nightly News will come back from a six-month suspension in August as an "anchor of breaking news and special reports" on MSNBC. Perhaps it makes sense to bring a big name to MSNBC, which has always struggled with ratings, but some are raising eyebrows that an anchor taken off his post because of issues of credibility is now coming back and handling breaking news of any sort. Williams sat down for a taped interview earlier in the week with his NBC colleague Matt Lauer. Many are skeptical about how hard hitting the interview could possibly be, considering they both work for the same company.
