Part of the reason why Brian Williams had a very difficult time weathering the controversy surrounding his embellishments (or lies, depending on how you want to frame it) is because Williams hasn’t always been the most well-regarded guy among his colleagues. He was apparently “deeply disliked” over at NBC, and even his predecessor, Tom Brokaw, was reportedly not very fond of him. On top of all that, after he was suspended, the folks at NBC News reportedly celebrated his ouster.
His new colleagues over on MSNBC — where Williams was demoted in the wake of his scandal — aren’t fans of his, either. For good reason, perhaps, as Williams once threw MSNBC — and the rest of the cable news outlets — under the bus. In a 2012 segment on Rock Center, Williams described the cable news industry as “corrosive and does nothing to help compromise in this country.” His veteran colleague Ted Koppel also added, in that segment:
“What works about cable television is it’s cheap and it makes a ton of money. There is nothing cheaper than a bunch of talking heads. The people who hire those talking heads have discovered the more irascible, the more partisan, the nastier they are, the bigger an audience.”
MSNBC staffers did not take kindly to the jabs, according to Page Six:
“The rank and file at MSNBC were furious at Brian,” a source told Page Six. “They hated it so much they were still mad about it months later at the office Christmas party.” That’s where some cheered “f - - k Brian Williams” — “It was like a rallying cry,” our source said.
In other words, it should be a fun first week for Williams in the MSNBC elevator come August.
(Via Page Six)
