NBC News has made it official. Brian Williams will remain with the network, although he will get demoted to the cable network MSNBC. Lester Holt has been named the permanent anchor for NBC Nightly News after successfully anchoring the broadcast during Williams’ suspension.
Holt is a longtime NBC News veteran, having been with the network since 2000. In 2007, he was named the permanent NBC Weekend Nightly News anchor and has also hosted Dateline and Weekend Today.
“This is an enormous honor. The respect and admiration I have for the Nightly News team has only grown deeper over the last several months that we've been together,” Holt said in a statement.
NBC News chairman Andrew Lack added, “Lester has done outstanding work for NBC News over the last ten years, and he's performed remarkably well over the last few months under very tough circumstances.”
Holt has been anchoring Nightly News since February, when Williams was suspended for six months without pay. In the meantime, NBC has tried to figure out what to do with Williams, who had lied to viewers about his experiences in a helicopter during the Iraq War in 2003. Last night, CNNMoney and other outlets reported that NBC News wouldn’t fire him, but decided to demote him to MSNBC.
So, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. He will anchor news broadcasts during the day on MSNBC and cover breaking news. Should Holt not be available to cover breaking news on NBC News, Williams will step in. Williams will not be returning until mid-August.
NBC News did conduct an investigation into Williams reporting and found that there were a number of embellished stories he told, both on air and during appearances on other shows. The network stressed that most of these fabricated stories were told years after they happened and mostly during Williams’ appearances on The Late Show, The Daily Show and other late-night talk shows.
“I'm sorry. I said things that weren't true,” Williams said in a statement. “I let down my NBC colleagues and our viewers, and I'm determined to earn back their trust. I will greatly miss working with the team on Nightly News, but I know the broadcast will be in excellent hands with Lester Holt as anchor. I will support him 100% as he has always supported me. I am grateful for the chance to return to covering the news. My new role will allow me to focus on important issues and events in our country and around the world, and I look forward to it.”
Today’s Matt Lauer already interviewed Williams and it will air tomorrow morning and during Nightly News.
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