Brian Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, moderates presidential debates, and has appeared on Saturday Night Live and other late-night TV shows
Making Headlines
By Brian Williams
A nightly news anchor for the digital age discusses journalism today.
It was an incredible feeling, growing up in Elmira, New York, watching the network evening news. My childhood dream was to have the job I have now.
People may not understand that a lot of my job is hours of writing in preparation for a half-hour news-cast. We argue, worry, debate, and fuss over words and meaning and fairness. Our job is to make gut decisions about the stories we think are important to American life and to our viewers. We take our responsibility seri-ously. Our audience, which I’m happy to say is larger this year than it was last year, often exceeds 10 million.
While it may not be what it once was, network news still occupies an important place in American life. Although families no longer gather in front of the television to watch anchors “address the nation,” we’re an important voice and there are a lot of voices out there competing for the same audience.
Americans spend a lot of time talking about them-selves these days—and reading the intimate details of the lives of others. By one count, 100,000 new blogs are born every day. That takes a lot of time and effort. The danger is: With all of this talk going on, will we still listen? Will we notice when the next great idea or great author comes along?
NBC News has the advantage of an instantly recognizable brand name and the best team of journalists in the industry. There remains an appetite for serious journalism and analysis, and I think people know us as a repository of good journalism.
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With all the serious news we have to cover, it’s nice to do some occasional lighter material—whether as a guest with Jon, Dave, Jay, and Conan or as a host of Saturday Night Live. When I see people in an airport, they are as likely to mention my last appearance on an entertainment show as they are the Nightly News.
I’ve always loved flying. I flirted with becoming a pilot years ago but ran out of money and had to abandon my lessons. My dad flew a lot for business, and I always found the airport a romantic place, especially in the old propeller-driven days.
I love listening to Channel 9 on United flights. When I was flying to the West Coast often, I came to know the voice of the controller at Cleveland Center! It makes the trip go faster, listening to the towers pass us off across the country, the patchwork of traffic controllers who are responsible for our incredibly safe aviation industry.
It’s a huge privilege to have my job, especially coming from my background. I still regard myself as a college dropout, a former fireman … who loves journalism. It all goes back to a notion of romance, just like flying. I get paid to write the first draft of history, and I watch it unfold before my very eyes.
I think all successful people from modest backgrounds share a trait. We count our blessings often, as we can’t believe such good things are happening to us. For me, that begins with my family— my wife and two children. It continues each weeknight at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, when our announcer (the actor Michael Douglas) says: “This is NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.” Upon hearing that, for a moment, I am always tempted to say, “Wow! What are the chances the anchor would have the same name as me!” Then the red light comes on atop the camera, and I realize I have the job!
The title of the wonderful children’s book might best describe a life in journalism: Oh, the Places You’ll Go! It certainly describes my life so far.
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