Brian Williams reporting was so slanted that i am surprised that people are surprised regarding his embellishments about his trip to a war zone. As I recall Hillary said something similar.

Walter Cronkite, whom I respected, is the reason better than 80% of journalist have a heavily leaning liberal bias.

I believe journalist like jurist need to remove as much of their bias as is humanly possible in order to be objective in their opinions. However it seems that this once sacred practice has disappeared and in many instances so has the sacred practice of ethical reporting.

Let's not forget his Katrina report of a body floating by his hotel in a mostly dry French Quarter district. In his anchor position, he doesn't have the leeway to embellish and skew the facts for any reason. We expect more from our news people, but maybe that is our fault. No, I don't believe Brian Williams will survive this. Nor should he.

It actually makes no difference to me if he said his helicopter got hit or not. We all have to take the television news with a grain of salt. He was trying to make it seem that his network went that extra step.

Brian Williams is not the first news anchor to fabricate sidebars to actuality nor will he be the last.

Google and you can see how Meagan Kelley and Sean Hannity have both been caught stretching the facts.

Not defending anyone here, BUT the two folks you mention from Fox are NOT newscasters. They do NOT report, but comment on news. Williams reports news and as such has a much higher standard.

Your confusion about this is the basis for much of our ill informed electorate. It is a serious one, as no one should tune into either of those you mention OR Rachael Maddow or many on CNN for NEWS.

NOT knowing this difference is a very serious flaw.

Journalism is about getting the facts and reporting them accurately.

I don't know what we are subjected to anymore, but it isn't that. The talking heads opine and edit and just plain lie sometimes. But mostly they take us all down a myriad of primrose paths. They change the subject and they omit and they varnish. I can't think of one who doesn't.

I really wish our reporters would do just that -- report the news. I don't want giggles. I don't want your version. I don't want your personal stories. Just the facts, thank you very much. I'm a big girl and will ingest those facts as I see fit.

Commentators are free to say what they will, so long as they let people know these are their opinions. Again, I'll listen and decide on my own.

This is why I like Al Jazeera America. I know when I am listening to news and when I am hearing opinions. Their news really does seem to be based on facts. When needed, both sides of the coin are given. When it is conjecture, whether by the reporter or a statesman or someone on the streets, they let you know.

As to Mr. Williams, he got hung by his own petard. For now, he has taken a leave of absence since he supposedly doesn't want to be the story. I hope he doesn't come back. We deserve better.

I find Al Jazerra to be the best "News" outlet on TV

That from a right of center ,white, protestant , anglo with a military background. NEVER THOUGHT THAT I WOULD BE SAYING THAT:ohdear:

What I find very disconcerting is that people watch the various cable "news" channels and consider that they are actually watching new. Oh, they get a smattering which is manipulated by editors to omit, embellish, and move the story to the direction they want.

The post above alluding to a certain cable channel, and folks on there "stretching the facts" really concerns me because people believe they are actually watching news.

It is difficult today, to get facts and takes more work than it should.

Have only "tested" Al Jazzeera but will revisit, however they are not immune...

"One and a half years ago, Suliman, 42, re-set his watch to German time, having become disenchanted with Al-Jazeera. And it wasn't just because the broadcaster seemed less interested in reports from Europe. Rather, Suliman had the feeling that he was no longer being allowed to work as an independent journalist.

Last August, he quit his job. "Before the beginning of the Arab Spring, we were a voice for change," he says, "a platform for critics and political activists throughout the region. Now, Al-Jazeera has become a propaganda broadcaster."

Suliman is not the only one who feels bitterly disappointed. The Arab TV network has recently suffered an exodus of prominent staff members. Reporters and anchors in cities like Paris, London, Moscow, Beirut and Cairo have left Al-Jazeera, despite what are seen as luxurious working conditions in centrally located offices. And despite the fact that the network is investing an estimated $500 million (€375 million) in the US, so as to reach even more viewers on the world's largest television market -- one in which its biggest competitor, CNN, is at home.

Al Jazeera Criticized for Lack of Independence after Arab Spring - SPIEGEL ONLINE

PS....this link goes back a year and half ago, so perhaps the situation is cured...if so I apologize and am willing to delete. Just showing that they all get accused. I will begin to watch...just tracked down the channel number

:bigbow::bigbow::bigbow:

NBC PLAN to save Brian Williams


NBC's big dilemma is the fact that Brian Williams is number one in his time slot by a wide margin, and they really don't have anybody ready to take over. So they will take a wait-and-see attitude while Lester Holt fills in this week.

He violated his position's rules.
He violated the trust of his followers.
He needs to be removed.

It will be very surprising and in fact revealing if he is allowed to return.....number one or not....wrong is wrong. His value cannot be the same to the listening public anymore.

Please limit your comments to the Brian Williams story. Many posts have been removed/hidden that delved into politics or were otherwise off topic. General discussion about media and their coverage of politics should be conducted in the political forum.

Thread will be closed if the tangents persist.

There are things I remember vividly from my childhood that my brothers say never happened. So I think memory can be a tricky thing.

If NBC doesn't have a succession plan, shame on them. Lester Holt is excellent IMHO.

Remember the panic of the Orson Wells broadcast War of the Worlds.

"But in the end, there was no massive panic and the spike in calls to the police is one of the few bits of evidence we have that at least a small percentage of the listeners had concerns or complaints over the broadcast. Quite simply, newspapers created the “panic” after the fact (including U.S. newspapers writing nearly 13,000 articles on it over the next month), the public swallowed up the newspaper’s reports, and radio and CBS particularly were happy to embrace the claims as a demonstration of the power of the new medium, which was good for advertising dollars and ratings."

Who knows whats true? Who knows who is pulling the strings?

I heard an NPR show that I can't find. The Doctor was saying if you lie to a child when they are five 3 times it gets recorded in their memory. The example he used was telling a child if they remember the scary clown that visited the class. The first time the child is asked they say no, the second time they say maybe and the third time they remember. He said that's it not unusual that people see the same event and remember it differently.

And some people lie, especially if it's in their best interest.

nothing new