Brian Williams has been seen in the media more than ISIS these days. His previous lies and deception have caught up with him, temporarily leaving him without work. I am not the slightest bit surprised in these fabricated stories. The man is great a telling stories and NBC wants viewers, mix the two together, and you’ve got success, until you’re caught. NBC is a major network, I refuse to believe that there weren’t any fact checking done on his stories. Like, does one believe everything out of someones mouth and then air it? No, research is done before things are aired, so why wasn’t these stories?
America loves a great story about soldiers and patriotism, and why not keep up with the stereotypes of the people of New Orleans. These were easy stories to fabricate that kept viewers interested, now that they are caught, it becomes an accident.
So I’m asked, should Brian Williams ethical standards that apply to him at work as a journalist, also apply to how he portrays himself to the public? Absolutely. Once you become a public figure, you should act as you do on air all the time. In my opinion, one can use credibility if they are one person at work and another in their personal life. It sucks, but he chose that lifestyle and he must live with it. And for the times where he wants to act out of character, I would suggest the saying, “Fake it, until you make it,” but we all know where faking got him this time. He should implement the same ethical standards that uses at work in his personal life and portrayal to the public.
Stanzza Patterson 