Brian Williams is facing more heat for his Iraq helicopter story, this time from his own employer.
NBC News president Deborah Turness confirmed in an internal memo to staff that she has launched an investigation into the Nightly News anchor’s account of the 2003 story. Williams admitted Wednesday that he inaccurately recalled a story from the Iraq war in which he claimed he was on a helicopter shot at by ground fire.
“We have a team dedicated to gathering the facts to help us make sense of all that has transpired,” said Turness in the memo. “We’re working on what the best next steps are.” The New York Daily News was first to report that Williams was facing an internal investigation.
The New Orleans Advocate reported earlier on Friday that Williams’ 2005 accounts of Hurricane Katrina are facing scrutiny as well.
Williams is expected to anchor Nightly News on Friday.
Turness’ full memo to staff is below:
All,
This has been a difficult few days for all of us at NBC News.
Yesterday, Brian and I spoke to the Nightly News team. And this morning at the Editorial Exchange, we both addressed the wider group. Brian apologized once again, and specifically expressed how sorry he is for the impact this has had on all of you and on this proud organization.
As you would expect, we have a team dedicated to gathering the facts to help us make sense of all that has transpired. We’re working on what the best next steps are – and when we have something to communicate we will of course share it with you.
Since joining NBC News, I’ve seen great strength and resilience. We are a close-knit family, and your response this week has made that even clearer.
As a relentless news agenda marches on, thank you again for continuing to do what we do best – bring the most important stories of the day to our audience.
Deborah
