One of the biggest scandals of 2015 is when Brian Williams claimed to have been shot at while in a military helicopter about a decade ago, when he was actually in another, more safe helicopter not affected by gunfire at all. He later publicly recanted the news story and apologized to viewers in February. Soldiers on the same mission denied this. He was suspended from NBC Nightly News and is now a career reporter for MSNBC.
In February, Williams stated, “The helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG. Our traveling NBC News team was rescued and kept alive by an Armored Mechanized Platoon from the U.S. Army Third Infantry.” However, two soldiers have a different story about Williams’ statement. According to the two soldier’s Facebook posts, one claimed Williams’ was on his aircraft which was unharmed, and the other soldier who was one the helicopter hit by enemy fire, said Williams was not on the aircraft he claimed to be on at all. Williams publicly apologized and was soon suspended following his apology.
Some reporters think his punishment should be finished and that’s he has dealt with enough humiliation. Ted Koppel told Time, “Look, Brian is an old friend, and I understand what happened to him. There is a difference unfortunately between the kinds of tales that you can tell while sitting at a bar, entertaining your friends, and what you can say when you’re on the air. Brian slipped and took the routine and did it on the air, and he has more than paid the price.” Ted Koppel considers Williams a good friend, and that he has dealt with enough backlashes following this scandal.
NBC Nightly News acted ethically when trying to restore its image after the Brian Williams scandal. Fortunately for NBC, most of the public considered Williams at fault and not the news organization. Brian Williams was acting in a non-consequentialist view when he was fueling lies to the broadcast programs to increase his ratings and views. NBC Nightly News acted ethically and consequentially when it suspended Williams, to keep its obligation to the public and keep the organization’s image strong.
According to William Benoit’s Image Restoration Strategy, Williams only really followed Step 5: Mortification, which I consider the strongest and most meaningful step of Benoit’s strategy. He apologized to the public on air, on his broadcast, and it was mortifying but necessary for his image and NBC’s image.
Although NBC is trying to move past this incident, reporters such as Erik Wemple of the Washington Post want answers to why his statements weren’t checked on earlier by other members of his crew. These types of statements will make it difficult for Williams and NBC to move forward. NBC and Williams must continue to remain transparent as possible about this issue, and seek to ensure that future reporters are fact checked more thorough.
Resources:
Haynes, D. (2015, February 4). Brian Williams recants story he came under fire in Iraq. Retrieved November 3, 2015, from http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2015/02/04/Brian-Williams-recants-story-he-came-under-fire-in-Iraq/1871423093452/
Straus, E. (2015, October 22). Ted Koppel: Brian Williams ‘Has More Than Paid the Price’ Retrieved November 3, 2015, from http://time.com/4084187/ted-koppel-brian-williams/
Wemple, E. (2015, February 5). The Brian Williams scandal is an NBC News-wide scandal. Retrieved November 3, 2015, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2015/02/05/the-brian-williams-scandal-is-an-nbc-news-wide-scandal/
Allison Nash 