We said last week that there was a good chance that former NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams’ fate might be announced, but nothing happened. Days went by with no further information or speculation, which eventually turned into a full week of nothing. But according to a new report from CNN, a “tentative agreement” to keep the embattled media personality at the network has been reached.
The report, which says the agreement will go into effect after Williams’ suspension ends in August, maintains that what he will do remains a mystery:
The decision, described by people with knowledge of the plan, ends months of speculation that Williams could leave NBC altogether.
Williams will not be returning to the “NBC Nightly News” anchor chair, the people said. Instead he will have a new role; the details of it are unknown to all but a very small number of executives.
Of course, rumors about what NBC could do with Williams have long been circulating, but nothing definite. Everything from putting him back at MSNBC to making him head janitor — which wouldn’t be that bad of a gig, honestly.
Either way, the main point here is that a deal has been reached. However, questions remain regarding what further nuggets of alleged shenanigans NBC found in its investigation of Williams:
The decision — reached by NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke and new NBC News chair Andy Lack — will come as a relief to the people that have been rooting for Williams, but will also raise questions about what exactly NBC found in its internal investigation of the anchorman.
So when will everyone else know? “NBC could make an announcement about Williams’ future on Thursday,” CNN suggests. We sort of jumped the gun on this last week, so we won’t hold our breath. That, or if we do, we won’t say we didn’t breath for like, I don’t know, three hours or something.
(Via CNN)
