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Brian Williams

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Brian Williams
Brian Williams, 2006-08-29
Born (1959-05-05) May 5, 1959 (age 65)
Elmira, New York
OccupationTelevision Journalist
Notable credit(s)NBC News reporter
(1993–present)
NBC Nightly News anchor (2004–present)
SpouseJane Stoddard Williams
Websitehttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3667173/
For other uses, see [[:the American journalist]].

Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is the anchor and managing editor 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. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife, Jane Stoddard Williams, and one of their two children.

Early life and career

His father a business executive, Williams was raised in a comfortable middle class 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.[1] 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.[2] 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.

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. There he met his future wife, Jane Stoddard, the program's executive producer.[3] Through Stoddard's father (vice president of marketing for WNET New York), Williams acquired Richard Salant, former head of CBS News, as a career mentor.[4]

In the same year, 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 December, 2004, Williams succeeded Tom Brokaw as anchor of NBC Nightly News. His yearly salary is reported to be $8,000,000. [5]

In 2007, he agreed to participate in an award and broadcast by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society but for citizen awards. The Above & Beyond Citizen Honors will be broadcast in March, 2008. [6]

Contrary to popular insinuations made by America-hating liberals with unnaturally oversized clitorii, he has not recently been shot in Iraq.

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 has been used since they created a new set in April 2007. He also appears often on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

He also appeared on Saturday Night Live 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 Weekend Update. 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 that is 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.[7] 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 a news anchor preparing a new James Bond-like intro to his news program.

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. 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 appeared as the grand marshal for the 125th anniversary celebration of the New Canaan Fire Company on July 30, 2007.[8]

Williams contributed to the Slate TV Club dialog on the final season of The Sopranos alongside journalist Jeffrey Goldberg and Slate senior writer Timothy Noah.[9]

Notable coverage

References

  1. ^ Brian Williams, NOPAC Talent. Accessed October 14, 2007. "Graduated from Mater Dei, a Roman Catholic High School in New Monmouth, NJ."
  2. ^ Strauss, Robert. "IN PERSON; The Life Of Brian, Annotated", The New York Times, October 27, 2002. Accessed October 14, 2007.
  3. ^ "Brian Williams Weds Jane Stoddard, TV Producer". New York Times. June 8, 1986. Retrieved 2007-12-11. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ Slocum, Bill (November 2005). [hhttp://www.ncdmag.com/media/New-Canaan-Darien-Magazine/November-2005/CBS-Legacy-Flourishes/ "CBS Legacy Flourishes"]. New Canaan Darien Magazine. Retrieved 2007-12-11. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ "Biography forBrian Williams (III)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  6. ^ "The Congressional Medal of Honor Society Announces Above & Beyond Citizen Honors". Findlaw-PR Newswire. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  7. ^ Gough, Paul J. "Williams still on desk at 'SNL'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  8. ^ http://newcanaanfire.org/pr06_parade125.htm
  9. ^ http://www.slate.com/id/2163797/entry/2165727
Preceded by NBC Nightly News Anchor
December 2, 2004 - Present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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