I am sick for Brian Williams. He is so loved, so talented.....so flawed.
Just like all of us.
I don't know what I would do in that situation...maybe it got away from him. Maybe he told people he had been in a fire fight in a helicopter so many times it became reality. I couldn't say. Just being there and in the vicinity of war would be dangerous enough for me.
But then I think about Robert Capa, the most famous war photographer of World War 2. He was there on D Day...his description of D Day in an article from Vanity Fair was riveting. Steven Spielberg said he used the 11 remaining pictures Capa took (out of hundreds) for "Saving Private Ryan"
Spielberg gave these pictures to his Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski and told him he wanted the entire D Day scene to look just like this. Kaminski won the Oscar for his work.
Robert Capa took these pictures....he was there. His descriptions of what he saw are horrific....along with all the other war correspondents who brought us these images and their first hand reports.
That's why men held Brian Williams responsible, even after all these years.
They were there, they took it, he didn't but said he did. It's hard to defend and hard to condemn. I am not going to, but he does owe an apology and an explanation to those men he wanted to be, but wasn't.
For me it's pretty simple. He's in a position where he brings important news to the public. He lied to make himself look bigger He is no longer trustworthy. That's that for me. But then, I went to J-school....
ReplyDeleteMy dad enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941 - England, Africa, France, Battle of the Bulge for three straight days, sometimes under fire. He didn't come home until 1945. Back into the Air Force in 1951 and stayed until it was over. My dad was a solid man with a heart of gold and iron. I'm sure his comment would be something like 'a man knows when he's being shot at, or not.' What Brian said is something close to stolen valor. He took respect that belonged to other men. It's easy to forgive others for their flaws, since we all need forgiveness from others. However, Brian's job imposes an extraordinary responsibility in America. I can easily extend a courtesy to the man for being flawed; I can no longer listen to his comments on the national news without wondering . . .
ReplyDeletePart of me felt for him too. He got caught in his exaggerated story. When I was young the news people investigated and reported the news. For the past decade or two I've notice that more and more the story comes back to them - where THEY were, how THEY felt, how THEY were impacted. Just a few weeks ago, after watching the news, he said, "It's always about them." Brian is a prime example of that network narcissism.
ReplyDelete'he' was my husband, commenting on the news chatter.
DeleteIt's so disillusioning when someone as well-respected as Brian Williams falls from grace. Once a journalist lies, it's impossible to believe him again. The whole thing is just sad.
ReplyDeleteHi. Robert Capa worked for Life on D-Day. J(Great pix at Magnum/Capa) The 1st pic was taken on June 23, 1944 and is credited : AP Photo/U.S. COAST GUARD. The second photo is credited to Chief Photographer's Mate (CPHoM) Robert F. Sargent and is cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 195515.
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