'NBC Nightly News': home of the whopper

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The mess at NBC news does remind me of a giant burger. In particular, Brian Williams appears so well put together, so perfectly done, mixed just right, with carefully measured proportions of gravitas, authority, heart and humor. What we didn’t, couldn’t know about was the slim thread of pink slime in the amalgam.

The face and persona he has presented to the world these last 15 years speak to a seemingly impeccable character. We really like him as we watch his broadcast, we really believe his reporting, and we begin to love him when he appears on the Jon Stewart show telling self-deprecating stories that mostly make fun of himself.

Not to press the metaphor too far, but until you cut into the burger, you can’t know what’s inside. With Williams, there apparently is some ingredient that led him to exaggerate stories for reasons that only he can know. Self-aggrandizement? Ego? A narcissistic belief that he can get over on his viewers? A genuine memory lapse? Only one thing seems clear: He reported an event that did not happen the way he said it happened, and there are credible witnesses to the incident in question.

If Williams were in another profession, exaggeration, even an outright lie, might not be so bad. Even in social situations, people spin stories and anecdotes to make themselves more interesting or to reflect more favorably on themselves or people they love. I don’t subscribe to a black-and-white philosophy of right and wrong, truth and lies. But in news reporting, you just have to tell the truth. You can’t make stuff up, because you then risk losing the single, most valuable commodity you possess: the trust of the reading or viewing public.

By all accounts, Williams is a fine human being, and I don’t think this changes his creds as a decent person. I do think he had a slip, or some slips, that make it impossible for him to continue in the news business. And I believe that both things can be true: that he’s a good guy who made some mistakes, and that, unfortunately, those mistakes are fatal in his profession.

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