NBC Replaces Brian Williams With Lester Holt As ‘Nightly News’ Anchor

Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, speaks at the Women's Conference Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
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NEW YORK (AP) — NBC News says that Brian Williams will not return to his job as “Nightly News” anchor, but will remain anchor breaking news reports at the cable network MSNBC.

Williams was suspended in February for falsely claiming he had been in a helicopter hit by enemy fire during the Iraq War. NBC launched an internal investigation that turned up other instances where Williams embellished or misrepresented his experiences, frequently during appearances on talk shows. Before his swift tumble, Williams was arguably the most powerful on-air personality in television news.

Lester Holt, who has been subbing for Williams since the suspension, will take over the job full-time.

NBC, which had signed Williams to a new five-year contract last fall, had been negotiating his new role over the past few weeks.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Notable Replies

  1. He belongs at Fox
    Horrible decision

  2. I am not a fan but he’s hardly Fox News material

  3. They never intended to bring him back as an anchor anyway. The issue was trying to get him in a contract breach so they would not have to pay him. Since they are keeping him and looking for other ways to fit him in, that means they could not legally terminate his huge contract. So they will give him some less prominent gig. If he decides to leave and do something else, then they won’t have to pay him. But for now he will get huge bucks for NOT doing the Nightly News, instead doing something far less prominent.

    He had resigned for MAJOR bucks just prior to all this. Had NBC actually done their homework before renewing it, he’d be screwed. Instead, he gets a fat paycheck every week. Funny.

  4. Lester Holt belongs at FOX? Why?

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