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* Shooting at Northern Illinois University
* Shooting at Northern Illinois University
* [[Virginia Tech massacre]]
* [[Virginia Tech massacre]]
* Bankruptcy of Bear Stearns
* [[I-35W bridge collapse]]
* [[I-35W bridge collapse]]
* Mainland China earthquake
* Mainland China earthquake
* Attack on Syrian nuclear facilities
* Attack on Syrian nuclear facilities
* Surge in Iraq
* Surge in Iraq
* Victory of Senator Barack Obama in 2008 Democratic Primary
* Victory of Senator Barack Obama in 2008 Democratic Primary process
* [[2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami]]
* [[2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami]]
* The death of [[NBC]] Washington Bureau Chief and ''[[Meet the Press]]'' moderator [[Tim Russert]].
* The death of [[NBC]] Washington Bureau Chief and ''[[Meet the Press]]'' moderator [[Tim Russert]].
* Death of Tony Snow, former White House spokesman and FOX News journalist


===Career timeline===
===Career timeline===

Revision as of 22:15, 14 July 2008

Brian Williams
Williams at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
Born (1959-05-05) May 5, 1959 (age 65)
StatusMarried
Occupation(s)News Anchor and Managing Editor of NBC Nightly News, Firefighter
Notable credit(s)NBC News reporter
(1993–present)
NBC Nightly News anchor (2004–present)
SpouseJane Stoddard Williams[1]
Websitehttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3667173/

Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is the seventh anchor and managing editor[3] of NBC Nightly News, the flagship evening news program of the NBC television network. Williams replaced Tom Brokaw on December 2, 2004. Previously, Williams was the network's chief White House correspondent and host of The News with Brian Williams on CNBC and MSNBC. In 2007, Williams was listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World[4]. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife, Jane Stoddard Williams, one of their two children and two dogs.

Biography

Early life and career

The son of a business executive, Williams was raised in a middle class Irish Catholic home. In his childhood his family moved from his birth place, Elmira, New York, to Middletown, New Jersey. He graduated from Mater Dei High School, a Roman Catholic high school in the New Monmouth section of Middletown.[5] While in high school, he was a volunteer firefighter for three years at the Middletown Township (New Jersey) Fire Department. After high school, he attended Brookdale Community College, before transferring to George Washington University, and then to the Catholic University of America.[6] He did not graduate, instead taking an internship with the administration of President Jimmy Carter. He now calls leaving college one of his "great regrets." In 2004, he returned to Catholic University and gave the commencement address, and in 2008 he received an honorary Doctor of Journalism degree from Ohio State University.

After working in the lobbying arm of the National Association of Broadcasters, Williams began his broadcasting career at KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kansas in 1981. A year later he moved back to Washington, D.C. and worked at WTTG-TV as general assignment correspondent. He replaced Maury Povich as host of locally produced Washington, D.C. chat show Panorama in 1985.

In 1985, Williams was hired by CBS and worked as New Jersey correspondent for its Philadelphia affiliate, WCAU-TV. In 1987, Williams was promoted to WCBS-TV in New York, where he soon began anchoring its noon news. He won his first Emmy for his reporting of the October 1987 stock market collapse. In 1993, Williams was hired by NBC national news as its weekend anchor, and in 1994 became the network's chief White House correspondent. In 1996, he began an eight-year run as lead anchor of The News with Brian Williams on MSNBC and CNBC.

Salary history

2004 - In December 2004, Williams succeeded Tom Brokaw as anchor of NBC Nightly News. His yearly salary is reported to be $8,000,000. [7]
2006 - In October 2006, Williams' yearly salary was reportedly not less than $10,000,000, according to NBC News President Steve Capus, then chief of NBC News.[8]

Appearances

He frequently appears on The Daily Show as a celebrity guest and interviewed by Jon Stewart. A running gag involving his head being projected on a screen behind Stewart was used several times after The Daily Show moved to a new set in April 2007. He also appears often on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

He also appeared on Saturday Night Live on September 30, 2006 to co-anchor the Weekend Update segment with Amy Poehler, but is told by Poehler that Seth Meyers will be co-anchoring the segment. On August 26,2007 he appeared live with Poehler and Meyers as guest monologist at ASSSSCAT 3000, a weekly show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre hosted by the Upright Citizens Brigade, of which Poehler is a founder.

Williams hosted the November 3, 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live. He hosted after a hectic week of moderating the Democratic presidential debate at Drexel University. After moderating the debate which ended at 11PM, he took a ride back to New York to rehearse the show until 6AM Wednesday.[9] On SNL, he offered a monologue where he poked fun at himself being unable to break out of the anchor mode, and played the roles of a NYC fireman on a local talk show speaking about fire safety, an actor who just discovered he lost his job as he is playing his final role, the debate moderator who confirms that the "media" has already chosen Hillary Clinton as its winner, and as himself preparing a new James Bond-like intro to NBC Nightly News.

At the 2007 Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner, Williams was pulled up on stage by improv comedians Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood and made sound effects as the two comedians performed a skit.

In 2007, he agreed to participate in an award and broadcast by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for citizen awards. The Above & Beyond Citizen Honors will be broadcast in March 2008. [10]

On May 19, 2007, Williams delivered the keynote speech at the New Orleans Arena for the Tulane University Class of 2007 Commencement. He previously was awarded the university's highest award, the Tulane President's Medal, on May 31, 2006.

Williams received an honorary Doctorate degree in Journalism and served as the keynote speaker at the Spring Commencement at Ohio State University on June 8th, 2008.

On June 18, 2008, Williams gave a eulogy at Tim Russert's memorial at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He ended his speech by saying "our maker" has brought Russert back home.

Notable coverage

Career timeline

References

  1. ^ Brian Williams - Nightly News with Brian Williams - MSNBC.com
  2. ^ Movie & TV News @ IMDb.com - Studio Briefing - 23 October 2006
  3. ^ Brian Williams - Nightly News with Brian Williams - MSNBC.com
  4. ^ Brian Williams - The TIME 100 - TIME
  5. ^ Brian Williams, NOPAC Talent. Accessed October 14, 2007. "Graduated from Mater Dei, a Roman Catholic High School in New Monmouth, NJ."
  6. ^ Strauss, Robert. "IN PERSON; The Life Of Brian, Annotated", The New York Times, October 27, 2002. Accessed October 14, 2007.
  7. ^ "Biography for Brian Williams (III)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  8. ^ Movie & TV News @ IMDb.com - Studio Briefing - 23 October 2006
  9. ^ Gough, Paul J. "Williams still on desk at 'SNL'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  10. ^ "The Congressional Medal of Honor Society Announces Above & Beyond Citizen Honors". Findlaw-PR Newswire. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
Preceded by NBC Nightly News Anchor
December 2, 2004 - Present
Succeeded by
incumbent