The role of media

Functions of the Media

Informing, teaching, entertaining, enlightening, and raising awareness in society are all major functions of the media. In this instance, multiple media outlets actively contributed to the demise of NBC News reporter Brian Williams in a number of different ways. Concerning the American helicopter he was piloting during the 2003 Iraq War, Brian William gave a contentious report. Brian claims that an RPG fire strike caused the chopper to land. But the Stars and Stripes story, a military publication, featured quotations from other US service members disputing Brian Williams’ claims (Guthrie, 2015).

Andy Lack’s Role

The Hollywood Reporter asserted that even, Andy Lack, head of NBC News, continued to have a close friendship with him. Even so, the Brian Williams after his suspension. However, the friendship could not allow Lack to reinstate Brian unless Brian expresses an apology that is satisfactory. Moreover, Hollywood Reporter noted that Lack was very tough on Brian in various face-to-face meetings. The reporter further shows that William lacked support from the top rank officials from the NBC News. In fact, the NBCU executives forbid Brian from talking to the media (Guthrie, 2015). As a result, Brian was not able to explain to the public the various reports concerning his exaggerated assertions from the field assignment.

Suspension of Brian Williams

The Guardian reports indicated that NBC suspended Brian Williams, the prominent news anchor at the company for a period of six unpaid months (Carroll, 2015). The suspension was effective immediately after the network learned that Brian had made a false story concerning him coming under fire from the US military helicopter during the Iraq war in 2003. According to Deborah Turness, NBC News’ President, Brian repeated the false claims on several occasions which was completely wrong for an individual in Brian’s position. As a news anchor and an image of NBC, Brian possessed the responsibility of upholding high standards and be truthful in all accounts of reporting news. Steve Burke, the Universal Chief Executive of NBC, scolded the actions of Brian arguing that they jeopardized the Americans trust in the NBC News (Carroll, 2015). Therefore, the suspension punishment was appropriate and severe because the actions were inexcusable.

Apology and Fallout

The Washington Post presented the apology of Brian William for inaccuracies in his reports (Farhi, 2015). Brian acknowledged some of the misstatements he made in the field report. However, questions emerged from other reports made by Brian like the Kartrina Hurricane, Israeli war, and the 1970s gunpoint robbery (Carroll, 2015). These events contributed to the abrupt fall of Brian from grace because he was the among the top most-watched news presenter in the US. According to the Celebrity DBI, Brian’s reputation declined significantly from 23rd to 835th position on the list of most trusted person in the US (Carroll, 2015). However, there are a number of colleagues from the press who showed concern about Brian’s action. Burke suggested that Brian merits for a second chance because he shared his strong remorse and was committed to gaining back the trust. Former CNN presenter urged for Brian’s mercy arguing that the media need to gain strong perspective and develop a collective grip on the matter (Carroll, 2015). The article by Moylan (2015) protected Brian’s action arguing that NBC had positioned Brian as an entertainer more than a journalist. Therefore, Moylan (2015) viewed Brian’s misrepresentation of the Iraq facts as a comedic strategy to keep the audience.

Work Cited

Carroll, R. (2015, February 11). NBC suspends Brian Williams for six months over Iraq helicopter story. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/11/brian-williams-nbc-suspends-news-anchor-for-six-months-over-helicopter-story

Farhi, P. (2015, February 4). Brian Williams admits that his story of coming under fire while in Iraq was false. Retrieved from The Washington: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/brian-williams-admits-that-his-story-of-coming-under-fire-while-in-iraq-was-false/2015/02/04/d7fe32d0-acc0-11e4-9c91-e9d2f9fde644_story.html?utm_term=.4ec074ca9e9f

Guthrie, M. (2015, April 28). NBC News Chairman Andy Lack Not Convinced Brian Williams Can Return. Retrieved from Hollywood Reporter: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-news-chairman-andy-lack-791599

Moylan, B. (2015, February 8). That’s entertainment: why Brian Williams will survive his NBC scandal. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/08/brian-williams-nbc-iraq-katrina-scandal