By Steve Rhodes
Talk about burying the lead.
Gabriel Sherman’s insider exploration of the Brian Williams saga for New York is rife with mundane office politics and power struggles until deep in the story when we get the real news.
Too bad no on seems to recognize it.
Take the Poynter Institute, for example, one of the industry’s leading training grounds.
Their headline on Sherman’s story: “Brian Williams Reportedly Lobbied To Succeed David Letterman.”
We kind of knew that already.
Their capsule aggregation? Here:
More tales of tumult from inside NBC News
Gabriel Sherman’s much-anticipated longread about the turmoil surrounding Brian Williams’ suspension from the anchor chair dropped Sunday. Among the juiciest tidbits: Williams asked CBS CEO Les Moonves to be considered as a replacement for David Letterman upon the comedian’s retirement from “Late Show,” according to “a high-level source”; Four NBC and NBCUniversal officials visited Williams at his apartment to notify him he was being taken off the air; Richard Esposito, the investigative producer at NBC News conducting a review of Williams, “delivered a 45-minute presentation at [NBCUniversal CEO Steve] Burke’s apartment” that unearthed “more issues” with Williams’ disputed claims; Williams can’t talk to the press under the terms of his suspension and “can’t wait until he can speak” publicly about the situation, according to “a close friend.” (New York) | “If Brian Williams proposed to CBS that he take over when Letterman retires, that alone is reason he should not return” (@jayrosen_nyu) | “Last weekend, workers at NBC’s Rockefeller Center headquarters briefly wiped away promotional photos of Brian Williams.” They went back up the next day. (CNN Money)
What a sad display of the industry’s focus on gossipy power dramas instead of the actual, you know, news.
Because what Brian Williams did to the news is the real scoop here. But you had to go deep into the story to get it.
Posted on March 10, 2015