NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams says he is taking himself off air “for several days”, amid questions over false claims he came under fire in Iraq.
Brian Williams said it had become “painfully apparent” that he was too much a part of the news.
The anchor repeatedly told a story about being shot down in a chopper in Iraq but veterans disputed his account.
Brian Williams, the most-watched network anchor in the US, blamed the “fog of memory” for the lapse.
He said he would not be presenting his nightly NBC show for several days while the network investigated his claims.
“Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us,” Brian Williams said in a statement.
On February 4, Brian Williams made an apology on air over his Iraq story.
“I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago,” he said.
“I want to apologize. I said I was travelling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] fire. I was instead in a following aircraft.”
Brian Williams’ apology came after veterans who were on the helicopter that was hit challenged his version of events.
One of them, Flight engineer Lance Reynolds, wrote: “Sorry dude, I don’t remember you being on my aircraft. I do remember you walking up about an hour after we had landed to ask me what had happened.”
Questions have also been raised about Brian Williams’ coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with one health official challenging a claim he contracted dysentery reporting on the event.
Ann Curry showed her cropped short hair as she returned to live TV for the first time since she was axed from the Today show.
Wearing a crisp white blazer, Ann Curry, 56, looked happy to be back in the anchor chair as she hosted the NBC Nightly News, filling in for Brian Williams.
Ann Curry tweeted a picture of herself preparing for the broadcast, which prompted a flood of praise from excitable Curry fans.
She has appeared on NBC a handful of times since her awkward departure from the network’s flailing morning show last summer.
However, the appearances have mostly been pre-recorded segments for Brian Williams’ show Rock Center.
After tweeting: “From the set.. Getting ready to anchor @NBCNightlynews,” user chefbigham was quick to respond: “WooHoo!!!! You are the only reason to watch the news.”
Another fan, saseesandee wrote: “@anncurry YeeHaw, so lovely to see u back!”
Ann Curry showed her cropped short hair as she returned to live TV for the first time since she was axed from the Today show
Ann Curry’s noticeably shorter hair reportedly got her in trouble with network executives, after she lopped it off without permission from NBC, in what was labeled an act of defiance.
Amidst criticism over the journalist’s physical appearance by her former Today bosses, Ann Curry “just decided to cut it”, according to RadarOnline.com.
“Ann was always told by her bosses that her hair had to be long, and she just didn’t like to wear it at that length,” a source revealed.
“She is a no-fuss gal, and doesn’t want to spend a ton of time styling her hair. [So] she just decided to cut it.”
They continued: “It’s a much shorter style, and doesn’t take as long to do. Ann didn’t tell her bosses she was going to do it beforehand.”
Like many other networks, any NBC on-air talent is required to notify management before changes are made to their physical appearance.
But Ann Curry was often the victim of jokes at the hands of Today show executive producer Jim Bell, according to New York Times reporter Brian Selter’s new book, Top Of The Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV.
Brian Stelter reported that Jim Bell was an instigator to “a general meanness on set” toward the former Today co-host.
In the months leading up to her teary-eyed departure from the morning show last summer, Ann Curry is said to have been “tortured”.
In one instance, a yellow dress Ann Curry wore on air was pictured next to Big Bird, and was captioned: “Who Wore It Best?”
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