Brian Williams 2-8-2015

8, February 2015                    Brian Williams

Brian Williams’s precipitous fall as NBC’s network anchor is a sad testimony of its obsession to project their newsmen as modern day super heroes into the line of fire - real or imaginary - to beat out their rivals and improve their ratings. Contrast Williams with Richard Engel of CNN who exposes himself to incredible real risk reporting from the hotspots throughout the world.

Brian Williams was a larger than life charismatic, charming and talented newsman who had no need to inflate his resume.  It was ironic that he might have escaped scrutiny but for a Chinook crew member who was actively engaged in a real firefight – who challenged Williams’s false account.

Unfortunately, lying has become endemic. Leaders of our biggest financial institutions told a lot of lies, and suffered no consequences. Elected leaders of our nation told a lot of lies that led our nation into a protracted, expensive and deadly war -- a war that led directly to the birth of Al Qaeda and its progeny, the ISIL -- and those leaders suffered no consequences. Remember Phil Donahue whose show was cancelled because of his opposition to the invasion of Iraq?   

The modern heroes of journalism, the truth tellers, suffer jail time and heavy fines – Alayne Fleischmann (exposed the financial shenanigans at JP Morgan), James Risen NYT reporter who exposed the NSA’s massive wiretapping. Editors and reporters have repeatedly raised concerns of the lack of access and transparency undermining journalism. It’s time to embrace truth-telling and shun falsehood.