Brian Williams on The Huffington Post

Josh Dorner: NBC Confirms That "Clean Coal" is an Oxymoron

2008-11-18T19:50:42Z

It's Green Week at NBC (and all other NBC-Universal properties) and thus we're treated to an extra helping of energy and environment stories from Nightly's globe-trotting, business savvy environment correspondent, Anne Thompson. Tonight's report included some serious straight talk about so-called "clean coal."

Brian Williams began with a remarkable lead-in:

"Coal. While you might have heard the phrase 'clean coal' during the presidential campaign, it's actually an oxymoron. Wishful thinking. Coal does not burn cleanly and it's hugely expensive to make it burn that way..."

And Anne Thompson herself offers an equally honest lead-in:

"Coal: the fuel the world burns to make electricity. Plentiful and polluting. A major contributor to climate change."

She then profiles a $100 million CCS pilot project in Spremberg, Germany operated by Vattenfall. It is located adjacent to a what Thompson calls a "dirty coal plant." The pilot project apparently captures 95 percent of its CO2 emissions and stores the liquefied CO2 in giant tanks -- before it is trucked 200 miles away and pumped underground.

Thompson then notes that "this process could increase electric rates by 50 percent."

And the icing on the cake? A German environmentalist calling the burning of coal without CCS a "crime against the climate."

I could scarcely have said it better myself. Now, I don't agree with everything in this story and anything that suggests that clean coal is even close to being ready on the scale or at the cost needed to make it a reality is misleading. Still, it is stunning to see an accurate and honest assessment of what our continued reliance on coal would mean: a crime against the climate. And clean coal? A 50 percent increase in electricity rates.

So -- should America rely on a ruinously expensive, Rube Goldbergian technology that won't be ready for years (decades?) or put our money and our mouths into the cheap, truly clean, safe, and readily available clean energy technologies we already have?

Watch the full report:

Michael DeJong: Green Week

2008-11-18T13:40:17Z

Green Week for NBC-Universal-Bravo launches with green themed programming. Their website - www.greenisuniversal.com - invites individuals to "Green Your Routine" by taking on simple environmentally sound actions until they become a habit.

Their "Green Your Routine" feature offers easy, practical and economical ways to become green just by changing routines to alter the individual impact we each have on the environment.

Simple stuff like supplying your own reusable tote bags when shopping for groceries, drinking from a ceramic coffee mug at home and at the office, using reusable water bottles instead of the disposable single-use variety, walking, riding a bike or carpooling to destinations, printing on both sides of the page, turning the water off while brushing your teeth, taking shorter showers as opposed to long and wasteful luxurious baths, unplugging computers at night... the ideas are only limited to the scope of your imagination.

The 'Green Your Routine' campaign features tips and suggestions from celebs like Julia Benz, Coolio, Ann Curry, Dana Delany, Tom Hanks, Jane Krakoswki, Bill Maher, Howie Mandel, Christopher Meloni, Debra Messing, Moby, Denis Quaid, Al Roker, Brook Shields, Tori Spelling, Meredith Viera, and Brian Williams - among others - talking about the way that they walk the walk.

Perhaps by "Greening Your Routine' we'll reclaim the environment, put big business in its place and make it safe again not just for our children, loved ones and pets, but for everything that climbs and crawls, flies or swims. Think of it as a way of being one with the Universe on a daily basis, and doing your part to make the world a safer, cleaner, more beautiful place.

[For the sake of full disclosure, I write as "Mr. Green" for the "Ask Mr. Green" column on the NBC-Universal-BRAVO eco-web site, www.GreenIsUniversal.com.]

Rick Horowitz: Post-Election: Call it Decompression

2008-11-11T15:14:02Z

He did the strangest thing last night: He turned the TV off.

There he was, still in the early part of the evening, with another hour or two of political shows still ahead of him -- updates and interviews and analyses and predictions -- and he reached for the remote and chose...

Silence. Blessed silence.

Don't get the wrong idea -- he wasn't shutting the world out completely. By that point in the evening, he'd already watched the network news, and something from the BBC, and Jim Lehrer. (He couldn't miss Jim Lehrer, could he?) He'd already read a newspaper or two, and part of a magazine, and surfed the net, and listened to NPR. Twice.

So he wouldn't exactly call himself unplugged. Saturated would be more like it. For the first time in -- well, who can even remember how long it's been? -- he found himself saturated. Sated. He suddenly preferred not watching to watching.

Who can even remember the last time he wasn't scarfing down every available bit of that amazing race for the White House? He can barely think of a time when there wasn't a campaign going on. And on. And on. And every minute of it absolutely compelling, fascinating, must-see TV.

That article a day or two ago that mentioned some semi-significant something that somebody had said way back in July of 2007? He'd been watching when it happened. That brief reference somewhere to some all-but-forgotten twist in the campaign trail so many months ago? He'd been watching when it happened -- and he hadn't come close to forgetting it.

But for last night? For the rest of last evening? He had finally had enough. The election was over, after all. He'd already done afterglow. He'd already done excuses. Also celebrating, recriminating, appointing, finger-pointing...

He could certainly take another spin around the dial: CNN. MSNBC. Fox. But he already knew all the news he needed to know, and at least for the moment, he had no appetite for the special seasonings each of them would surely be sprinkling onto the latest headlines. He --

Not true.

He peeked at Olbermann. He clicked the TV on midway through Olbermann, just to make sure nothing earth-shattering had happened while his guard was down. Five minutes, tops -- that's all it was. Just to make sure. Just to...

Where were we?

He had almost no appetite for the special seasonings each of them would surely be sprinkling onto the latest headlines. It was time to try something different.

But what? That was the question. This sudden block of uncommitted, middle-of-the-evening time staring him in the face -- no polls to peruse, no ads, no electoral maps -- and he was totally out of practice!

What, he asked himself, do non-obsessive people do? And an answer finally came to him: They can read books.

So he opened a book and started reading -- and not just for a few slapdash minutes before bedtime, but for the entire rest of the evening. It felt so strange. It felt so nice.

It was a book about FDR's first 100 days. You weren't expecting him to go cold turkey, were you?

Rick Horowitz is a syndicated columnist. You can write to him at rickhoro@execpc.com.

NBC Opens With Tim Russert Mention (VIDEO)

2008-11-04T19:09:51Z

NBC opened its election night coverage at 7 pm with a special mention of their late colleague Tim Russert. Brian Williams, sitting alongside Tom Brokaw and Andrea Mitchell, concluded his opening remarks by saying, "It is a night our friend Tim Russert would have loved. We'll cover it here in his spirit tonight."

WATCH:

Read more about Election 2008 coverage here.

Eric Alterman: Confessions of a Branchflower

2008-10-28T16:09:21Z

Last week we flagged CNN's Drew Griffin's interview with Sarah Palin, in which he offered questions like "You seemed to be very much on your game. You get huge crowds. Even bigger crowds than John McCain. Why is that?" and "Governor, is Barack Obama a socialist?" before getting around to softly addressing what is the single largest issue facing Palin -- her involvement in the firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.

Palin has now given another national interview; she and John McCain sat down with NBC's Brian Williams last week. (Note, again, that Palin draws out a marquee interviewer, making CNN's assignment of Drew Griffin last week all the more curious). Amazingly, Williams didn't even ask about Monegan's dismissal at all.

It's worth reiterating how important this issue is when considering Palin's case for the vice-presidency. When McCain introduced Palin in Dayton, she said that "Along with fellow reformers in the great state of Alaska, as governor, I've stood up to the old politics as usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the Big Oil companies and the 'good old boy' network." Palin has repeated this in countless iterations since then, and it's the reason McCain's team picked her in the first place. Jane Mayer's recent New Yorker piece makes clear that McCain chose Palin in large part because other candidates "did not transmit McCain's core message that he was a 'maverick.'" Robert Draper writes the same in The New York Times Magazine -- he reports that what McCain campaign manager Rick Davis saw in Palin was "namely a way to re-establish the maverick persona McCain had lost while wedding himself to Bush's war."

The problem, of course, is that on October 10, a bipartisan legislative panel found that Palin "unlawfully abused her power" in firing Alaska's public safety commissioner, and specifically said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Such a condemnation, so close to the election, is damaging to any candidate, to say nothing of one that's based her image on battling corruption.

Williams' interview aired over three days last week, and he even mentioned the Troopergate scandal in two of the prefaces to the interview clips -- but he didn't find it relevant enough to actually ask Palin about it. By the way, over the course of the three days the Palin interview was airing on NBC's Nightly News last week, Palin was being deposed again in a seperate investigation into the firing of Monegan. The deposition happened not 24 hours after Williams interviewed Palin -- but he apparently did not find this newsworthy and did not ask her about it.

Aside from Griffin's neutered question, Palin has never been asked about the Branchflower report, nor has she publicly responded to it, save a shouted reply to a group of reporters that she was "vindicated" by the report's findings, which is, you know, not true. The story just isn't a visible one -- over the past month, it's gotten only 25 mentions on the network and cable news outlets combined (Palin and Branchflower), as compared with 143 mentions of her recent wardrobe dust-up (Palin and $150,000).

Et tu, Brian?

To read the rest of today's Altercation, click here.

Scott Swenson: (Watch) Brian Williams Ask McCain-Palin if Abortion Clinic Bombers are Terrorists Like Ayers

2008-10-23T21:14:58Z

Scott Swenson is the Editor of RH Reality Check.

NBC's Brian Williams asked Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin about their attacks on Sen. Barack Obama and his association with Bill Ayers, and if they would define abortion clinic bombers as domestic terrorists.

Palin said she wouldn't condone such actions and ultimately worked her way to saying that "terrorist" would be defined as anyone who seeks to destroy innocent Americans, meaning that she seems to agree that abortion clinic bombers are terrorists. McCain felt the need to to clean up the answer later in the interview saying that anyone who breaks the law, including bombing an abortion clinic, should be punished to the full extent of the law.

Here's an idea -- how about just de-politicizing private, personal health care decisions that individuals should make for themselves, and repudiating the extremist rhetoric of the anti-choice protesters that create a culture where clinic violence is celebrated. Better yet, how about repudiating the lies being told right now in mailers, robo-calls, and in TV ads about the so-called "Born Alive" bill that contribute to the culture of anti-choice extremism and violence.

McCain has previously said he was "proud of everyone attending our rallies" which includes Paul Schenck who has been linked to numerous acts of violence, including the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian. Former Republican Congressman and host of MSNBC's Morning Joe has regularly suggested the media discuss Ayers more, but has yet to raise the McCain-Palin links to these un-repetent domestic terrorists. Schenck was recently given VIP passes to a McCain-Palin rally.

Later in the interview in a discussion of elites, McCain defines an elite as someone who "thinks they can dictate to America what they believe, instead of letting Americans decide for themselves." That seems to make the McCain-Palin views on a woman's right to make her own health care decisions, "elitist".

Other anti-choice extremists have been linked to efforts in Colorado to pass a law giving all fertilized eggs human rights, while many conservative, pro-life Republicans have been openly taking a stand against the extremism in the anti-choice movement calling for a change in the abortion debate. Several Republican leaders, including Gen. Colin Powell, have suggested one reason they are supporting Obama is because the Republican Party has moved too far to the right and adopted an extremism that causes them concern.

In the same interview Palin was asked if she is a feminist, and again dodged the question preferring not to associate herself with "labels" even though she is a member of Feminists for Life.

Ilan Goldenberg: Does Palin Know What a Precondition Is?

2008-10-22T19:53:47Z

Doesn't sound like it according to this exchange with Brian Williams.

BRIAN WILLIAMS: Gov. Palin, yesterday, you tied this notion of an early test to the president with this notion of preconditions, that you both have been hammering the Obama campaign on. First of all what in your mind is a pre-condition?

PALIN: You have to have some diplomatic strategy going into a meeting with someone like Ahmadinejad or Kim Jong Il, or one of these dictators that would seek to destroy America or our allies. It is so naive and so dangerous for a presidential candidate to just proclaim that they would be willing to sit down with a leader like Ahmadinejad, and just talk about the problems, the issues that are facing them, that's some ill-preparedness right there.

Ummm.. What Palin is describing is what would be called preparation not precondition. Just to be clear. Not negotiating until preconditions are met means not starting your negotiatins until the other side has met some kind of condition you imposed. In the case of Iran, McCain insists that the Iranians suspend their uranium enrichment program before we can even begin to negotiate. Obama opposes this precondition. The basic argument against preconditions is that you can't ask your adversary to give up a big negotiating point in exchange for absolutely nothing and expect them to actually sit down at the table. Doesn't happen. Didn't happen when we dealt with the Soviets or the Chinese. And so then you have no exchange of information whatsoever and can't find points of common interest or negotiate. You end up in a total stalemate.

Anyway, this is not very complicated. It also happens to be the crux of one of the most important foreign policy issues being debated between Obama and McCain. You'd think Sarah Palin would understand this. But at least its comforting to know that she is against sitting down for a major international summit without first doing some preparation. I guess that qualifies her to be President.

Chuck Todd On McCain-Palin: No Chemistry, No Trust, Possibly No Chance

2008-10-22T18:02:10Z

Commenting on a new joint interview with John McCain and Sarah Palin, NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd described the Republican ticket as lacking cohesion, chemistry, and (he hinted) trust.

"There was a tenseness," Todd told MSNBC's Chris Matthews. "I couldn't see chemistry between John McCain and Sarah Palin. I felt as if we grabbed two people and said 'here, sit next to each other, we are going to conduct an interview.' They are not comfortable with each other yet."

Todd, who was remarking on the interview conducted by NBC's Brian Williams (he was in the room), speculated that the candidates had come to the realization that "they are losing" the campaign, and guessed that McCain may have begun to hold his vice presidential choice responsible for his dwindling White House chances.

"When you see the two of them together, the chemistry is just not there. You do wonder, is John McCain starting to blame her for things? Blaming himself? Is she blaming him?" asked the highly regarded NBC newsman. "And maybe they don't feel they can win right now, so they are missing that intensity. That was the thing that struck me more than anything. You almost wonder why they wanted the two of them sitting next to each other."

The interview, Williams said, would air over the course of three days. And some actual news - beyond the body language - was drawn from the proceedings: Palin, apparently to her own staff's surprise, promised to release her medical records.

"Both of these candidates are on the verge of pulling a Bullworth," said Todd, referencing the late '90s political classic about a pol who stopped spinning. "We are at a critical juncture inside this campaign for the McCain folks and that is who is trusting who? You have got people worrying about their reputations. Now you are wondering do the candidates trust the staff? Does the staff trust the candidates? This is a dangerous time in a campaign that is behind. They desperately need some good news because you do wonder if cohesion is disappearing on the inside."

Ron Levitt: Absentee Ballot Requests Energize Florida Democrats And Encourage Obama Supporters

2008-10-12T13:51:38Z

Just three weeks before Election Day, Florida has a blue tinge!

Sunshine State Democrats - mindful of the fiasco in 2000 which gave the Presidency to George W. Bush - are being urged daily to vote early or by absentee ballot to provide a huge cushion of Blue votes before November 4th. Meanwhile, Republicans are bringing out their top guns to fire up voters to keep Florida and its 27 electoral votes Red, despite the disastrous weekend news that Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has an ethics problem in Alaska.

In overwhelmingly Democratic Broward county (Fort Lauderdale and its suburbs), more than eight per cent of its 997,321 voters had asked for absentee ballots as of this weekend. It leads many to believe absentee voting could set records and that the Democratic campaign to register new voters is paying off.

"There is a huge number of absentee ballot requests-- more than 80,000 so far, and requests will be taken until the Wednesday before election day. And we expect early voting (Oct. 20-Nov. 2) to be equally heavy," said Mary Cooney, public service director and aide to Broward County Elections Supervisor Dr. Brenda Snipes. Similar reports are being reported statewide. In several counties, comparable heavy absentee ballot requests, are keeping election supervisors and their staffs busy.

As a result of such keen interest in the presidential election, there is one view that both parties seem to have in common--the possibility that once again, Florida could decide the Presidency. However, media reports and polls indicate a Democratic victory. The state's largest newspaper, the Miami Herald, on Sunday had as its top page one headline "Polls Point to Decisive D.C. Shift," and indicated "Barack Obama could be on the winning end of a transforming election."

Floridians, meanwhile, are getting a constant barrage of television commercials, telephone bank calls, mailed campaign literature, and in-person visits by the candidates or their surrogates in unprecedented numbers.

How does Florida look? As most of the pollsters report via daily newspapers and television, it started out with Sen McCain ahead, then it became an even election, now it looks like Sen. Obama has taken the lead. And, today, with the economy in turmoil, Democrats are saying it looks better and better for their party. A Fox/Rasmussen poll this past week tallied 52 per cent for Obama and 45 per cent for McCain, a CNN report had it at 48-45, and Gallop had a 10 point difference, a dramatic shift to the Democratic nominee from previous polls a week earlier. There are even some predictions now of an Obama landslide.

It should be noted that these polls were taken prior to Friday night's news bulletin that Gov. Palin has an ethics problem in her home state - a news item which could affect the McCain campaign.

However, if one can utilize media reports and polls in this key swing state as an indication, the unprecedented number of absentee ballot requests could be a sign of a trend

Steve Schale, Florida State Director of Obama for America, said that part of the strategy is to
urge absentee and early voting "to make an impact and help us win." Workshops were held
this past weekend throughout Florida to get volunteers and party activists to work toward this
goal.

Meanwhile, Republican strategists - buoyed by visits from Sen. Joe Lieberman in South Florida and by vice presidential nominee Palin to some conservative areas near Pensacola and Jacksonville - are also asking for supporters to vote early. For example, Palin was dispatched to Estero, a small town known for its evangelical history, where a rally was held in a hockey rink in which she repeated many of the charges featured in McCain TV ads, blasting Obama and has held private fundraisers, reportedly raising 3 millon dollars at two events. This all occurred shortly before Palin's troubles burst anew that an Alaska legislative committee finds that she unlawfully abused her authority in firing the state's public safety commissioner. The Republican vice presidential nominee has been accused of firing a commissioner to settle a family dispute, an argument vehemently denied by the governor.

Some Florida GOP supporters were trying to get the "news" off Palin while emphasizing McCain's latest economic suggestion. But, McCain is reportedly facing a fresh round of anger from members of his own party -- particularly several economic conservatives --deeply opposed to the Arizona senator's proposal for the federal government to purchase troubled mortgage loans. McCain first mentioned his mortgage relief plan during Tuesday's town-hall debate with Obama. The backlash came as McCain hoped his plan would resonate with moderate voters, while Palin kept the conservative wing of the party soothed.

Campaign visits to the Peninsula are on the increase. Democratic veep nominee Sen. Joe Biden
made several Southeastern Florida stops, increasingly before the area's relatively large Jewish
population. New Year's greetings from Biden and Obama, citing their longtime support of Israel, flooded mailboxes of Jewish voters in several counties. Biden also attracted large crowds in the Tampa area, as well as in normally GOP-leaning Fort Myers.

Most pundits say that turnout will eventually determine the outcome for Florida's important electoral status Democratic leaders are saying that they have registered 170,000 new voters, while Republican strategists say they believe the current polls can be overturned by rallying its party's base. The GOP were leaving that job for Palin, but now with the Alaska legislature ruling against her action Friday, that could change. No news yet on how many stops the Republican v.p. nominee will make in Florida or the number of McCain visits (most believe he will be in Florida often), while Obama enthusiasts say that Obama and Biden will spend a lot of time in the Sunshine State between now and election day.

"You can count on Florida to deliver 27 electoral votes for the Democrats," says Ann Zucker, president of the Council of Broward Democratic clubs.

With the surge in absentee voting, it is beginning to look more every day that Zucker's enthusiasm may be catching!

Brian Williams On The Late Show: "I'm A Maverick, And I May Not Answer The Questions Tonight"

2008-10-04T06:51:47Z

Friday night on the Late Show, it was a meeting of the two most prominent media personalities spurned by the McCain campaign -- Brian Williams and David Letterman.

Neither man is terribly happy about being rejected by McCain-land, but they both manage to maintain their sense of humor. Here's video:

Four Little Words That Can Return Charlie Gibson To Ratings Victory

2008-09-26T03:37:58Z

There are a few news stories from the past week that are very, very connected. One is Tuesday's announcement that "NBC Nightly News" won the 2007-2008 season. Another is the news that Charlie Gibson and "ABC World News" had the most total viewers last week, keeping their lead from the previous week when they won the demo, too. Another is the cover story of AARP magazine, featuring a NASCAR-driving, SNL-hosting, quality-hanging Brian Williams.

Some stories from last week are notable, too: One noting that Katie Couric and the "CBS Evening News" had enjoyed their best numbers since March; another noting Couric's success and renewed appeal thanks to her recent foray into the more freeing world of online video.

Where's the connection? In the great, wide world beyond the traditional 22-minutes of the evening news. If you want buzz, that's where to find it — and maybe, just maybe, the ratings will follow.

What BriWi Knows (And Katie Is Figuring Out)

Let's take BriWi, because he's the easiest example. The dude is everywhere — not only geographically, although the whole Afghanistan-Tehran-Berlin-Beijing-Conventions thing deserves some kudos. But literally, if you look at where he was a year ago when he was still behind Gibson in the ratings race, he's been on Jon Stewart multiple times, on Conan, Letterman and Leno, and — oh yes — hosted a little-known TV variety show called "Saturday Night Live." He was also on Sesame Street...twice. He blogs every day, regularly answers viewer questions online, and happily participates in random funny projects like the Bill Gates farewell video or Stephen Colbert WristStrong Revolution or Slate's Soprano's dialogue. He also takes time out of his busy schedule to hang with Bruce Springsteen and Bono. In short, his headlines are just as much for what he does outside his newscast than for what he does in it.

Couric had the flipside of that for a while — all sorts of press not about the work she was doing but why it wasn't working and when it would be ending. You remember all that. But it was rarely for the stuff she was doing outside her newscast — mostly because she wasn't doing much. I can remember watching her with David Letterman in an interview around the time she took the chair at CBS and thinking, wow, why isn't this smiley, fun woman showing herself more? (Here's a snippet; can't find the original anymore but it was loose and funny and great). Lately, that's changed — she went on "The View" and dissed her critics, kept on having fun with her YouTube channel, gave a savvy (and fetching) cross-platform shout-out to Digg, and hit her stride with the convention webisodes. All of which has let her relax and hit it out of the park in her day job — first this week with Biden, and, more notably, with what we've seen so far of her own killer interview with Sarah Palin. Have you noticed that no one is wondering about when she's leaving CBS anymore? She was even just on the "CBS Early Show."

What BriWi knows and Katie is starting to figure out is this: The 22-minute broadcast isn't the only game in town. Not by a long shot. Yes, they're 22 minutes of the most -watched news programming on television, and the main platform for their very best work — but still, you don't reach new viewers by only speaking to the viewers you have. It may not show up in the ratings today or tomorrow, but on, say, election night, or a moment of crisis, when an uncommitted viewer picks an anchor and tunes in.

So, what can Charlie Gibson do about it?

What Charlie Gibson Can Do About It

Charlie Gibson may just now be figuring all this out. After seeing last year's hot streak reverse itself back in favor of NBC, this week and last there's been a noticeable bump, thanks to landing the first (and majorly-newsmaking) interview with Sarah Palin. Granted, that was an event on his newscast, but the coverage of that event extended way outward, with everyone covering that giant exclusive — for a brief moment, Gibson enjoyed Katie Couric-like headlines (which is a rarity, despite being far ahead of Couric-like ratings).

Also, he's finally started a blog. And it's good! His entries are long, and thoughtful, with reflections and memories, and you can tell he's sort of warming to it — but more importantly, he's actually putting something out there for the viewer/reader to warm to, too, aside from his sincere wishes that you had a great day. With the exception of "Stand Up For Cancer" (which all the anchors did), the Dem debate in April (which I bet he'd just as soon forget) and a brief turn voicing a muppet anchor in a Disney Christmas special, Gibson just really isn't all that knowable outside his little 6:30 TV window.

Which brings me to my four little words — the four little words that I believe can change all that, and catapult Charlie Gibson back to ratings glory. Here they are:

Dancing. With. The. Stars.

Yes, that's right, Charlie: I want to see you DANCE. Does that have anything to do with your ability as a newsman? Of course not. Except here's the thing: DWTS debuted on Monday with 21.3 million viewers for ABC. Even skimming off 1/20th of those numbers would be enough to trounce Brian Williams handily.

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. DWTS is an ABC show, and thus the perfect vehicle for showcasing the network's other stars. (Remember the show helped dance Gibson and ABC to an election-night ratings victory in November 2006.) The intra-network cross-pollination is a specialty of NBC (think Meredith Vieira on "30 Rock" — and, of course, BriWi on SNL); there's no reason that ABC can't take advantage of those synergies too. Finding the sweet spot between news and entertainment can only be a plus for any network.

And don't fret the loss of gravitas — what's more perfect to showcase Gibson's courtly, elegant side than a graceful waltz? Hes already look good in a tux, so no need to worry about losing any dignity via costumes (though a well-placed red matador cape never comes amiss — think of what it did for John O'Hurley!). Besides, BriWi was the test-case, and proved that gravitas can withstand funny hats and fake mustache.

No, all Gibson has to do is dance. He doesn't have to win — hell, no one would expect him to! The point is, America would love him for trying. And then they'd flock to his newscast in droves, because there is a well-established link between people who watch live-dance reality shows and people who want to know what's going on in the world.

But really, I don't see how it could fail. If you can trust America to cheer you on through a mambo, then America can trust you to deliver the news. That's how the bond between anchor and viewer develops. Just ask BriWi how far wearing a funny hat got him — I believe it was post-SNL that the tide started to turn back toward NBC.

It's a brave new world of broadcast journalism, where you're no one unless you're on embeddable video that can go forth and multiply on blogs, websites and Facebook pages. (Not to mention Twitter, as Rick Sanchez is finding out.) The only limitations lie with you — and what you're prepared to do, and with whom, and whether or not you do so in sequins. It can be as easy as a trip to "The Daily Show," a visit to Leno's couch, or finally wearing a simple red bracelet. Or — if you really want it — it can be about the music swelling and the lights coming up on a couple, moving as one, leaping and gliding and twirling across the floor as the crowd roars and the folks at home cheer...and then forget to change the channel.

The choice is yours, Charlie. But I think it'd be sorta cool.

Related:
'NBC Nightly News' continues its winning streak [LAT]
Anchor Wars: Williams And Gibson End The Year Neck-And-Neck [ETP]
2 Out Of 3 Anchors Join Colbert In Wrist Stunt [NYT]
Evening News Ratings [TVNewser]

Possibly Related, If Somone Dares:
"Dancing with Stars" leads TV's opening night [Reuters]

Brian Williams Tells AARP Magazine: Obama, McCain Both "Quality Hangs...Good Guys To Hang Out With"

2008-09-24T13:29:25Z

"I've never stopped feeling fortunate that I have this incredible, incredible front-row seat, quite literally, flying around with the candidates, driving through motorcades, going to conventions and debates," says Williams. One memorable moment on the stump with presidential candidate John McCain strikes him in particular. "It was late. It was the height of the campaign in Iowa," he recalls of one freezing night last January. "We were in a tiny suburban VFW hall. McCain arrives for a rally. And he had promised us an interview. It was the last thing he wanted to do. It was bedlam. We had fire marshal issues, crowd-control issues. Our microphone didn't work. McCain wanted to walk out. He was, I will say, having known him for a long time, in a foul mood. I didn't blame him. It was the end of a very long, grueling day." A network television interview "was the last thing he wanted to do--and he did it. And he was pleasant, and he honored his commitment to us."

For Williams--the son of an Army captain who served in World War II, and an unabashed supporter of American soldiers and veterans (he is on the board of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation)--McCain's heroic history as a former Navy pilot and prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five years, along with that Iowa incident, shows he "has a stick-to-itiveness and he has these gradations of things that are bothersome in life. A friend of mine who knows him likes to say that he has been 'scarred by the professionals.' So not much gets to him. And people need to know that about John McCain."

If Williams doesn't regard Obama with the same kind of visceral appreciation he obviously feels for McCain, he has nevertheless come to admire aspects of the Democrat's personality that might also serve a president well.

"Driving through New Hampshire with Obama, alone in the front of the bus with him, I was struck by how easily he relaxes," he says. "He seems to have one mode. There's no pregame ritual before a speech, there's no postspeech endorphin crash that some politicians suffer." Last July, Williams went to Germany to interview the Illinois senator. "Minutes before he spoke to a quarter of a million people in Berlin, he was standing around with us talking and joking with members of his Secret Service detail. He heard his own introduction and turned toward the stage without ceremony or drama. His aides often use the word serene to describe him--and it's accurate."

The candidates' engaging personalities have made the journalist's job "more interesting," as Williams puts it--and, in a way, more difficult.

"Of all the politicians to end up in this race, as a friend of mine would say, these two guys are 'quality hangs.' These are good guys to hang out with," he says. "Have I watched a lot of journalists fall slowly and head over heels in love with John McCain in the back of a moving bus? Yeah. Have I watched a lot of my fellow journalists at least slightly swoon over Barack Obama in the back of a moving airplane? Yeah."

But he denies that such bonding between candidates and correspondents softens coverage. "Okay, it may loosen up a conversation," he says. "It may give me more ease with them. It may give me more access. But you don't shy away from that. You don't say 'Oh, God, I enjoy sitting down talking with John McCain, thus I worry about my ability to be impartial, thus I worry I'm going to give him a pass.'"

NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams Wins Its 12th Season In A Row

2008-09-24T08:53:43Z

"NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" ended the 2007-08 television season as the most-watched network evening newscast for the 12th year in a row, expanding its lead over ABC's second-place "World News With Charles Gibson," which had come close to matching its viewership the year before.

NBC's newcast averaged 8.52 million viewers, up 1%, the only broadcast to gain audience since last season, according Nielsen Media Research. "World News" drew 8.18 million viewers, down 2%, while "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" followed with 6.16 million, a drop of almost 9%

Tom Gregory: A Cup of Humor and a Pound of Hope (Video)

2008-09-17T20:51:21Z

Katie Couric To Get Shot At Sarah Palin Interview, Brian Williams A Maybe

2008-09-15T07:47:11Z

For a precious few moments, the presidential campaign wasn't about Sarah Palin's hairstyle or her Naughty Monkey red shoes or her daughter's pregnancy.

Charlie Gibson was all business during three interviews with the Alaska governor last week, pressing her on her qualifications to take over as president and her knowledge of national and international issues. The ABC anchor navigated a minefield in which he would have been slammed for going easy on America's newest celebrity and denounced if he were seen as hectoring her. When he finally got around to asking what everyone in America has been debating -- how can she juggle five kids and the vice presidency? -- Gibson prefaced it by saying, "Is that a sexist question to ask?"

No national candidate in modern history, not even Hillary Clinton, has ever been lambasted and lionized in quite the way Palin is. Why, for instance, do so many journalists feel compelled to mention her looks? Why are her family choices at the center of a noisy, cable-driven debate? Why are some Republicans convinced that the media apply a different standard to conservative women -- and journalists just as convinced that legitimate reporting is being written off as sexist snobbery?

Gibson managed to cut through that static. Instead of the touchy-feely stuff, there were questions about Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, abortion, gun control and global warming. Gibson did no grandstanding, even as he followed up on questions three or four times. And if he seemed like an unsmiling professor peering over his glasses at an earnest graduate student, well, the first time a vice presidential nominee submits to journalistic scrutiny is an oral exam of sorts.

"The headlines are about her answers, not Charlie's interview, and that was our goal from the start," ABC Senior Vice President Jeffrey Schneider says.

The McCain camp decided early that Palin's first interview should go to one of the network anchors, so she would be seen as hitting major-league pitching before a large audience. Gibson, 65, was viewed as fair-minded, McCain aides said, in part because of the way he has handled several interviews with President Bush. The plan is to give CBS's Katie Couric a chance later on, and perhaps NBC's Brian Williams as well.

7 Reasons Why Gibson Got The Get

2008-09-10T15:01:45Z

Tonight, Charlie Gibson and a crew from ABC News will pack up and head to Alaska for his interview with the elusive and press-wary GOP vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. After Palin bypassed two Sundays of potential interviews and attacked the media in her convention speech, after she was pointedly made unavailable to the press, and after John McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis blustered on Fox News Sunday that she wouldn't suffer an interview until the media was ready to treat her with "deference and respect" — well, after all that, it was finally announced that the McCain campaign had picked ABC's Gibson for the honor. He'll interview her tomorrow and Friday — September 11th and 12th — and broadcast the results to an eager, Palin-starved world.

There are lots of articles about what questions Gibson should ask her, or how tough he should be. This post isn't about that — it's about answering this question: Why did the McCain camp choose Charlie Gibson in the first place?

As much as Democrats, angry at Gibson's tough questioning of Barack Obama at the April 16, 2008 debate, may think that he was chosen because he was favorable to the GOP, I don't think that was the reason (nor do I think Gibson is a GOP shill; it was just a boneheadedly-handled debate). But the McCain campaign had three choices — three network anchors, each with viewers in the multi-millions — and I have no doubt that Brian Wiliams and Katie Couric put in the request. Here's why I think they went with Gibson:

(1) The GOP hates NBC. That was pretty obvious during the anti-media chants of "NBC, NBC" during Palin's convention speech (lest you forget). That probably disqualified Brian Williams right off the bat. But if it hadn't, probably this would have:

(2) Gibson is of the McCain generation: Charlie Gibson is the eldest of the Big Three, recently turned 65 to BriWi's 49 and Katie's 51. He's an older white male, old enough to be Palin's father, actually (not unlike McCain). On the scales of "deference and respect" that gulf would probably make a different — both Williams and Couric would be facing her on more equal footing as colleagues from the same age and stage. And speaking of equal footing:

(3) Charlie Gibson is not a woman. Unlike Katie Couric! Who would be far less likely to face charges of sexism, and thus would have less reason to be extra-careful. A woman asking about Palin's family life, balancing home and work, questioning her experience — well, call me sexist but it would just feel different. (Don't call me sexist. It's just a fact.) Also, along those lines...

(4) Katie would be out for the jugular. Come on. Why on earth would she hold back? She's coming off a convention bounce of her own, and would be looking to make headlines — not friends. (Well, Sarah started it!) See above - she'd have no reason to back down if things got testy. Why would the McCain campaign risk Palin being unfavorably compared to another woman? More than a little of her power and popularity is based on her gender and femininity and the power that comes from that. Given time to think about it, I'm sure this reason would even have trumped GOP hate for NBC. But even if so, consider this:

(5) BriWi gets hunting. Every so often on his blog, Brian Wiliams will mention Cabela's, a small chain of ten giant sporting goods stores that specialize in hunting, fishing, and the real outdoors. He reported on it for the 2004 election, pointing out that in 2000 "six in ten gun owners voted for George W. Bush" (that stat held in 2004). Cabela's customers are "people that hunt and fish and believe the phrase, 'Under God' belongs in the Pledge of Allegiance." This is BriWi's area of expertise — Cabela's people, NASCAR people, people who don't think New York is America. More knowledge and more comfort equals less deference. Hell, he might even ask a question about aerial wolf hunting. Why risk it?

(6) Okay, maybe they have reason to think that Gibson would serve up softballs. I rapped Gibson for his super-deferential interview of President Bush at Camp David over Thansgiving, and as Greg Sargent points out at TPM, he was the only anchor to interview McCain at the GOP convention. Per Sargent: "Gibson has been granted exclusives with McCain and his running-mate, which is unusual favoritism by any measure. There's something about Gibson that McCain advisers appear to like a great deal." Maybe! Though I still would not count the April 16th debate as a reason here — if anything, the backlash from that would probably inspire tougher questioning.

(7) They like him! The really like him! Maybe the McCain campaign chose Gibson because they respect his journalistic integrity, like his newscast, and trust him to give a fair and unbiased interview. That is entirely possible and nothing in this post is meant to say that he would do anything else. But come on. We're talking about the McCain campaign here. Sex ed ad? The "lipstick on a pig" sexism kerfuffle? Hello, Steve Schmidt? Remember, fun Steve is gone. That's just not how this campaign is making its decisions right now.

All of this is conjecture, of course. But in considering why this plum media get was neatly wrapped up and hand-delivered to Gibson with a bow, they all seem pretty reasonable. One thing is for sure: The ratings are going to be ginormous. Everyone hanging on the edge of this newest dramatic turn in the campaign will be tuning in to see what the heck she actually says. What the heck he actually asks...well, that's up to him.

The Star-Studded (And Tear-Jerking) "Stand Up To Cancer"

2008-09-09T14:29:43Z

On Friday night, all three networks ram the star-studded, commercial-free benefit show, "Stand Up To Cancer," to raise money to fund cancer research and fight what they called the cancer "emergency" afflicting the country right now. Over $100 million was raised, with approximately 10.3 million viewers across the three networks. Perspective, according to Paul Gough at the Hollywood Reporter:

The two broadcast networks that didn't run the special, Fox and the CW, had more viewers together than the telethon. Fox's first hour of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" averaged 6.6 million viewers while CW's "Smackdown" averaged 4.5 million.

The September 2005 simulcast to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims averaged about 24 million viewers on 29 separate networks.

So what. Who cares. 10.3 million people DID watch, and donated, and felt a lump in their throat as they heard the sad stories of loved ones lost or thought of how their own loved ones had been ravaged by the disease, and felt a sharp thrill of victory at the parade of survivors across the screen, like Robin Roberts and Christina Appelgate and Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge and Patrick Swayze, and were only too happy to part with a few dollars to maybe make a difference. Congratulations, "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader," I'll take the karma of standing up any day.

Also, it was a Palin-free night, which was kind of nice. Though Lance Armstrong did challenge Barack Obama and John McCain to name three things they'd do to fight cancer as president, and each delivered with a videotaped response. (I took notes on other stuff, but not on them, because frankly after two weeks of covering the DNC and RNC I felt I deserved a little break. So there.)

Here's a few snaps and notes from the broadcast:

Lance Armstrong and Elizabeth Edwards — high-profile survivors and advocates for fighting the disease — open the show, as an entire stadium stands up with them. First impression, duly twittered: First public appearance for Elizabeth Edwards in quite some time

The crowd really erupted for Swayze, whose struggle with pancreatic cancer a few months ago seemed extremely serious. (They're all serious, but reports had been that Swayze's days were numbered.) He looked pretty good to me.

"Please welcome our network anchor dream team, Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charlie Gibson!" My notes say "network cancer dream team" — a slip, obviously, but sort of accurate. Each of them spoke of their own family members affected by or lost to cancer: Couric's husband, Wiliams' mother and sister, and Gibson's wife, a breast cancer survivor. Gibson also talked about how the ABC News family had been affected by cancer: Via survivor Robin Roberts and the losses of Peter Jennings and Joel Siegel.

First person the camera showed you when entering the Kodak Theater: Scarlett Johanssen.
Something didn't quite go as planned for Kirsten Dunst, who appeared to get testy as she took the mike and then seemed to sulk through her part.
Featured music included James Taylor and Sheryl Crow singing "Fire & Rain" and Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" — yes, they really did intend to make us cry
Cute little video from the cast of "30 Rock," with Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Judah Friedlander and Jack McBrayer. At first thought Sarah Palin was making a cameo. I wonder how much she gave?
Billy Crystal did a bit with Bud Selig about baseball, Katie Couric talked to Charles Barkley about his colonoscopy, Salma Hayek looked hot. (Sorry, she did.)
1500 people die from Cancer per day. That's one American death every minute.

Jack Black took to the stage in a frenzy, challenging stars like Josh Brolin and Ellen DeGeneres to pay up out of their own pockets. Then he made like he was calling Spielberg. Would have been better if they had scrolled some actual celeb donation numbers. Lead by example, etc.

Brad Garrett was given a rectal exam on national television on three networks. Apparently 1 in every 6 men will get prostate cancer. Good news: his prostate is fine.

ABC's Robin Roberts looks — and is — terrific. Note Kate Bosworth and Rob Lowe behind her, taking calls.

Meryl Streep narrated a great bit about the history of telethons, focusing on the inception of the March of Dimes, zeroing in on an old-timey radio blaring an old-timey address, promising that if every American could send in just one thin dime, then "we can lick infantile paralysis."
Fran Drescher talked about her charity, Cancer Schmancer.
Divas Unite! Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Natasha Bedingfield, Miley Cyrus, Leona Lewis, Carrie Underwood, Keyshia Cole, Leann Rimes, Ashanti and Ciara all united in the new single, "Just Stand Up." Even though I only knew who about half of them were (Ciara? Leona Lewis?) I still bought it, helping to make it the #2 most popular song on iTunes the next day. Video below.
Josh Groban and Monica Mancini sang a version of "Imagine" while Halle Berry, Casey Affleck, Jennifer Garner and Forrest Whitaker told stories of cancer victims and survivors, showing pictures. I am pretty sure I teared up here.
Here my notes say, "Keanu, Jim Halpert, and Tracy Turnblad." Also, "AARP!"
Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who I'm going to go out on a limb and call America's favorite mayor (who's gonna challenge him, Kwame Kilpatrick?), said that "8.3 million new yorkers are proud to stand up to cancer." Jimmy Fallon tried out a new slicked-back hairstyle. I hope it's a fad.
Marg Helenberger! Gezhundheit. Also, Sharon Osborne and Julia Louise-Dreyfus.
Oh, look at that, I did take notes on Obama-McCain: Wow - spontaneous applause for Obama: "As someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies as she lay in bed dying of cancer..."
They honor Sidney Kimmel who donated $25 million. "This week ten thousand Americans will die from cancer. This is the war we must win."
Finally, Jennifer Aniston, capping off the "historic collaboration of three networks and the cancer community." Sobering sign off: "Please stand up once more for the 60 people who died during the course of this hour, one per minute." Wow.

Beating cancer, and looking hot while doing it: Sheryl Crow, Christina Applegate and Melissa Etheridge (who later played a song).

Jon Favreau wears an "In Memory Of" t-shirt.

Divas unite against cancer! Live broadcast from the stage of Fashion Rocks.

Did I miss anyone? Here are a few more:

* Abigail Breslin
* Angie Harmon
* Charlize Theron
* Christina Ricci
* Dana Delaney
* Danica Patrick
* David Spade
* Diane Keaton
* Don Newcomb
* Elizabeth Berkley
* Goran Visnjic
* Jessica Alba
* Jimmy Smits
* Josh Peck
* Joshua Bell
* Mandy Moore
* Marissa Winokur (I said Tracy Turnblad, but you know.)
* John Krasinski (aka Jim Halpert)
* Mekhi Phifer
* Masi Oka

Cast of:
* 30 Rock
* CSI Miami
* Lost

Stand Up To Cancer: Networks Raise Over $100 Million

2008-09-08T08:11:48Z

NEW YORK — Spurred by an historic telethon Friday night, viewers stood up to cancer and pushed total donations for research to battle the disease past the $100 million mark.

That dollar figure reflects contributions from viewers of the telethon, "Stand Up to Cancer," as well as money raised since late May, when the Stand Up to Cancer initiative was launched, according to Lisa Paulsen, head of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the charitable organization behind Stand Up to Cancer.

News Anchors Set To "Stand Up To Cancer"

2008-09-03T18:51:43Z

NEW YORK — Katie Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams have something in common besides their jobs: Each has lost loved ones to cancer _ which gives them something in common with nearly everybody.

The evening news anchors are planning to join dozens of A-list entertainers and sports figures on "Stand Up to Cancer," a live, one-hour special being simulcast at 8 p.m. EDT Friday on ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as cable's E! Entertainment channel.

Janet Janjigian: Courage to Standup2Cancer

2008-09-03T14:57:27Z

My colleagues Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charlie Gibson (as a TV news producer I worked with all three) have joined forces in a rare show of solidarity to raise money to fight cancer hosting a one hour call in show, Standup2cancer.

Bravo to these network anchors for having the courage to channel their competitive instincts to meet this urgent need. Their collective credibility signals their commitment to fund research to find a cure, as well as the high priority they place on news coverage of this destructive disease. According to the Standup2cancer website, "cancer will affect one out of every two men and one out of every three women." That is jaw dropping, in fact, it means many of you reading this blog are, right now, engaged in the battle with cancer (whether as patients, survivors or friends and family of both) and, sadly, many more of you will enter that battle field in years to come.

Each of these three network news anchors heard the brutal word cancer when a family member received the diagnosis -- a husband, father, sister, mother and wife respectively. Now they are working with Standup2cancer to make finding a cure a reality, uniting you with numerous celebrities waiting to take your call. The focus is on how you can help -- donations, volunteering your time or expertise, exchanging cutting edge information.

When you hear the words "you have cancer" from a doctor standing in front of you, your brain and heart go numb. I know. I was with my Mother when they told her she had inoperable, stage four, terminal lung cancer. My sister and I looked at her, and then each other in disbelief, both of us speechless.

My Mother had the courage to speak first, saying "I find this hard to believe" and I knew exactly where she was coming from. In her mid-eighties, she never smoked a day in her life (never even tried a cigarette) nor was she exposed to second hand smoke. As a daughter I was devastated, and as a journalist, my reaction was, "what happened to stage one, two and three, why wasn't this found sooner when surgery might have been an option, who dropped the ball?" All the questions you are trained to ask in news and then in turn, demand answers-immediate answers to fit into well crafted sound bites. But cancer doesn't work that way. It invades and pervades on its own time frame, taking you down a road that eludes well crafted sound bites.

It was my Mother's idea I pursue a career in television news. "See that woman reporter," she said, pointing to Nancy Dickerson reporting from the White House while we were watching NBC News, "You can do this, this is a great profession for you, you need to go to Washington, DC and start this journey." This at a time when there were very few women in TV news, either in front of or behind the camera. No matter, it was her vision; she was a true news junkie and realized news moves the world, wanting me have a part in telling the story. She supported this vision, nurtured it and gave me the courage to believe I had what it takes. And as it turns out, like most Moms, she was right. I did go to Washington DC, building a career producing for NBC Nightly News (including covering the White House) ABC News Nightline and later CNN in Los Angeles. Because of her insight and love, I was able to thrive in a profession that was tremendously rewarding. She was my champion and my rock, watching everything I ever worked on, (including all the hour documentaries on Pension Funds she actually found fascinating), celebrating my success and holding my hand when I sobbed, describing a decision made by yet another inept executive. "It is not about your job", she would say. "It is about your talent and ability to move forward, one foot in the front of the other." And when I was offered a position as a studio executive and asked her advice, she said to me, "you're going to learn so much in executive management, your name is all over this opportunity, go for it, it's a new direction on the journey." And again she was right, another terrific, amazing professional experience.

I have spent the last 18 months helping to take care of her, accompanying her to doctor's appointments, hospitals, getting x rays, coping with medications and reactions, immersing myself in the world of cancer. She was not a candidate for traditional radiation and chemo, rather, was taking a pill form of chemo in hopes of shrinking the tumor, giving her some quality to the time she had left. And while the medication did give her some added time, the side effects included losing her hair, a miserable skin rash on her stunning, flawless complexion, nausea and weakness. My sister Nora (who suffers from lupus) packed her up, generously driving her to my home on numerous occasions so she could stay with me from time to time between visits to the oncologist. I was cooking for her, taking long walks at the beach in Santa Monica joined by my nephews and their Dad, visiting family and friends. It was during this time we shared together, I realized my Mother was the most courageous person I had ever known. My whole life, she was a constant, determined source of strength, no matter what obstacle or challenge came her way. Her unwavering faith inspired her to rise above challenges, including her terminal cancer. She faced it and made up her mind to beat it. "They're going to find a cure, she would say, "I just know it."

My Mother set a goal to live to age 85 and to no one's surprise she made it. We celebrated her birthday with a terrific dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Pacific, returning to my house for cake and champagne. Six weeks later she was in hospice, too weak to hold a book or newspaper. My sister was reading to her from the Bible and I was reading articles from New Yorker about Hillary Clinton. She was smiling back at both of us, understanding every word. My brother, sister and I were holding her hand when she died, assuring her we would take care of each other, the way she took care of us.

I am so grateful to God for the time I had with her those last months and the opportunity to honor her journey, as she is the one who chartered mine. I miss her terribly, but know she is in a much better place with God, cancer free. Her fight has ended, and ours just beginning. So call in and thank Katie, Brian and Charlie for their courage, recognizing the collective need to Standup2cancer, raising money for a cure. My Mom would have liked that.

Janet Janjigian is a media consultant, studio executive and Emmy award winning TV news producer.

Jon Stewart Asks Brian Williams: "Does MSNBC Have To Be The Lohans?"

2008-09-03T08:27:59Z

Brian Williams appeared on Tuesday night's "The Daily Show" from Minnesota, where Jon Stewart asked him about the recent infighting taking place on MSNBC.

"Let me ask you this," Stewart said. "You're NBC, you're the top dog, you're the anchor, and then they send you over to MSNBC, and literally they're beating each other up. Matthews is yelling at Olberamnn, Scarborough is yelling at David Shuster, you have to apparently ask some of the women there if they would check a box if they like you...is there no control? Is it Lord of the Flies?"

When Williams tried the, "I think every family has a dynamic all its own" defense, Stewart shot back: "But does MSNBC have to be the Lohans?"

Elsewhere in the interview, Williams said that Stewart "got in [his] grill" the last time he was on "The Daily Show," to which Stewart responded: "You are the whitest man in the world, you don't have a grill."

Watch:

Previously: "Daily Show" Mocks MSNBC Infighting: "It's Lord Of The Flies On The NBC Roof!"