The Daily Nightly began on May 31, 2005. As Brian wrote in his first post it aims to provide a narrative of the broadcast day and a window into the editorial process at NBC Nightly News. Brian weighs in every weekday and NBC News correspondents and producers post regularly.
Brian Williams became the seventh anchor and managing editor in the history of NBC Nightly News on December 2, 2004. Read his full biography.
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Having started the day with no voice, I have spent much it in my office avoiding conversation and trying to coax a croak into enough of a noise to get me through a half hour of television. I felt awful when correspondent Janet Shamlian brought her very cute little daughter by my office for a visit earlier today: at that point in the day, I was making sounds audible only to whales -- and I'm afraid she left here wondering who the scary man was. I will make an azithromycin-and-tea-fueled attempt to get through the broadcast this evening, having come down with the same upper-respiratory thing that millions seem to be battling.
How we'll begin the broadcast is still a bit up in the air. We just exited the 2:30 editorial meeting, and the problem is not a shortage of stories. The sad discovery on Mount Hood is among the stories we'll cover. The search effort continues, and conditions today aren't quite what they were yesterday. Many family members spoke to the assembled media today, amid the backdrop of sadness and trepidation with each passing day. Just this past hour, the family of Kelly James has confirmed that it was indeed his body. The Vietnam-era Chinook helicopters we've been watching are still the workhorses of the Army and Army Reserve -- they all have a ton of miles and flying hours on them -- and while they've been retrofitted over the years (with new avionics, regular engine changes, etc.), those airframes are the originals. I flew on several in Iraq with Gen. Wayne Downing, U.S. Army, ret., who was able to point out the patched-up bullet holes in one Chinook's skin dating back to the Vietnam war. One Iraq-based Army Chinook I flew in still had a vintage canvas bag for shell casings from the door-mounted machine gun, bearing a stenciled date from the 1960s. In this case (and as is common in aviation), maintenance and upkeep often matter more than the age of the airframe -- as evidenced by the hard work those helicopters are doing, along with their Black Hawk brethren, in some nasty weather atop Mount Hood over these past few days... and in hostile, unforgiving places elsewhere on the planet.
Also tonight: a new Pentagon report on the Iraq war will (we know from an advance read) contain some "devastating" findings and facts. Jim Miklaszewski will have that report for us. Ron Allen will update us on the "era of good feelings" in the NBA -- the repository of fellowship, sportsmanship and holiday warmth. Oh... and heavy fines and a lot of cursing.
Kevin Corke has a story on what can often be the financial "underside" of this time of year -- when a lot of lower-income folks are forced to pay even more than they should just so they can afford to give gifts to their loved ones. And the aforementioned Janet Shamlian (she of the daughter with permanent emotional scars from her visit to the croaking anchorman's office), will have a piece on the musical tastes of the Baby Boom generation. If you guessed James Taylor and Elton John, you guessed correctly. And then some.
In our journalism watch: two superb page one stories in this morning's New York Times: one on an American prisoner held in Iraq, the other on the "wood boilers" that are fouling the air in New England (and other places) while providing heat cheaply (NYTimes.com login required for links). And my thanks to TIME magazine editor Rick Stengel for inviting me to author a reality check of sorts in this week's edition on their choice of "Person of the Year" and the current media landscape. We're also extremely grateful to the panel put together by the Baltimore Sun for the nice things they had to say about us in a review of various television network blogs. We work hard at it, and it means a lot to all of us who contribute.
We hope you will join us for our Monday night broadcast as we start another week.
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Early Nightly is up
I've been a loyal viewer since before I interned in the New York Bureau of "Nightly News" more than a decade ago.
I could swear during the last story tonight, the one about rock and roll music and those who are listening to it, that the b-roll of some of the concert tickets included one that read the San Jose Sharks. I do believe that at least these Sharks are a sports team, not a rock and roll group.
Another NBC journalist's autobiography once said "To get it first is important, but it is more important to get it right." It is words I try to live by every day.
JCM (and don't worry, I'll still be a loyal viewer)
Pennsylvania
(Sent Dec 18, 2006 7:10:06 PM)
While the efforts to rescue the climbers is heroic, And I hope there is something of a happy ending, I truley wish that in your newscast, you would describe the same heroics that are performed everday by the troops in Iraq..
Kevin McKinley, Danbury Ct. (Sent Dec 18, 2006 6:45:31 PM)
I agree with Mr. Rickett. Let's get past "fixation" news broadcasting. If there is no news on a particular subject, then give it up. Stop trying to pretend there is. You can always let us know through those incredible annoying scrollers that nothing is happening right now. I would spend more time watching the "news" if more of it was. I quickly weary of watching some poor schnook's eyes bulging while a reporter/anchor tries to squeeze one more drop of "information" out of him. Besides, (I'm sorry but it is true) no news person I have ever seen has enough knowledge or personality to keep a story going when the news leads have run dry. The longer anyone stays on trying to fill air time, the more likely they are to start making mistakes or asking increasingly dumb questions (like calling a Black Hawk a Chinook or a "breaker" on the International Space Station a "beaker" (I've heard both). There are other things happening in the world just as, if not more important than, Mt. Hood. Give yourself a break, and turn to other news. It really is okay. We won't switch to another channel. Actually, I'm much more likely to turn to another channel when the program won't move on when "breaking" news is no longer breaking. As an aside, it makes a rather interesting game to watch the news with other people and see who can tell when the anchor has run out of news. There are some tell-tale signs the work every time.
Hope you get over the throat thing. Been there, done that.
Lookingfornewsin, Houston, Texas (Sent Dec 18, 2006 6:45:11 PM)
I'm watching your broadcast right now and as I listened to you do the intro I thought you sounded sick. Within seconds I was on your site and had my suspicions confirmed. I love the internet. Feel better.
S.A., St. Louis, MO (Sent Dec 18, 2006 6:34:47 PM)
With the changing temperatures hot and cold many people are getting sick. Get better quickly Brian.
Rosalind Stowe, Houston, Texas (Sent Dec 18, 2006 5:54:05 PM)
I think that it is about time to give the Mt. Hood story a bit of a break. The families waiting to hear about their loved ones are most likely at the breaking point without a bunch of people, looking for a first scoop, bothering them in their time of worry. How would you feel if while trying to give your family hope and comfort, someone was in your ear, shoving a microphone in your face, trying to find out every bit of information that you know. Or how about if it was your child or spouse that they keep showing being put into a hellicopter for transport. If there is nothing new to report or view, just say, "there is nothing new to report with respect to the climbers on Mt Hood" and move on. Stop showing the same old graphic footage over and over again. It's time to show a little sense and compassion.
Jmes C. Rickett, Tampa Fl (Sent Dec 18, 2006 5:26:27 PM)
Brian, if necessary, use a stage whisper :) Sincerely, I hope you are feeling better soon!
And.. I recall when you came back from the Time meeting awhile back you said you suggested that "you" (us.. end users) be the Person of the Year. Congratulations on that perception!
As for why we boomers like our old favorites; well my mom and dad never got past Tommy Dorsey either. Everyone likes the music of their youth because it reminds us of our youth. But.. I do like The Killers too :)
Lynn G., Minneapolis, MN (Sent Dec 18, 2006 5:13:19 PM)
Brian,
What happens if you can't find a voice and what time do you make that decision by? Is there someone on stand-by for you? Does Campbell Brown always have her cell phone on?
Pete Braley, Fairhaven, MA (Sent Dec 18, 2006 4:45:36 PM)
Congratulations on the Baltimore Sun article... very well-deserved. And you DO have the best evening news show on any network. It is as if your experiences in Katrina made you the down-to-earth realist that American TV news so desperately needs. Thanks for being in my home each evening.
Charlie Richardson, Fallston, MD (Sent Dec 18, 2006 4:43:59 PM)
Brian...Sorry to hear that the dreaded URV has caught up with you. Between my husband and I, three daughters and a son, three sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law, and ten grandchildren we have all experienced this dreaded virus. Thankfully, it does not last long. Hope you feel better soon!
Pam, Indiana (Sent Dec 18, 2006 4:40:19 PM)
I know all about trying to croak through a day. When your primary job is to answer phones, not having a voice can be a reason for a sick day. How dedicated of you to attempt to do a newscast in this manner, Brian! I hope you find enough voice to get through the evening without ending up with a killer sore throat for bedtime!
Stephanie Umbro, Maine (Sent Dec 18, 2006 4:28:25 PM)
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