Larry of the Lawn Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 If nothing else, it has given us some great meme fuel! This is my favorite so far. I pretty much assume everyone on TV is trying to sell me something or lying so I don't think this is that big of a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Once and Future King Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 This is my favorite so far. I pretty much assume everyone on TV is trying to sell me something or lying so I don't think this is that big of a deal. Awesome. Just awesome. I haven't laughed that hard in a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swordfish Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 dunno, man. they all just kinda made up stuff about Iraqi WMD; the war chorus was basically unanimous. Fair enough. I'd have no problem holding them accountable for made up shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelticgar Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 NBC Suspends Brian Williams with no pay for 6 months. This story has moved pretty quickly. Part of me feels bad for the guy. I think the reason for the lies was an underlying insecurity about his place in the media hierarchy. I guess he needed to enhance his street cred a little. in my view traveling into war zones is pretty ballsy. No need to add to it. kind of loving how CNN and FNC are all over it but Chris Hayes is talking about John Stewart all night. :) MSNBC is hopeless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitac Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I just don't understand why he lied about being in a helicopter that was hit, why he propagated the idea in such a public manner. You just can't miscontrue something like that. Oh, that's right, it was another helicopter, not the one I was on. NBC Nightly News is the number one rated prime time news show. Why Santy, why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suttree Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 You just can't miscontrue something like that. Actually, research shows that you very much can and it's not really an uncommon occurrence. How reliable is human memory? Most of us believe that our memory is like a video camera, capturing an accurate record that can be reviewed at a later date. But the truth is our memories can deceive us — and they often do. Numerous scientific studies show that memories can fade, shift and distort over time. Not only can our real memories become unwittingly altered and embellished, but entirely new false memories can be incorporated into our memory bank, embedded so deeply that we become convinced they are real and actually happened... The scientific literature is filled with fascinating studies of researchers planting fabricated memories from the simple to the bizarre — of being attacked by a vicious animal, for example, or even witnessing demonic possession. A seminal study by Dr. Loftus planted false memories of being a frightened child lost in a shopping mall. After reading a description of getting lost, about one in four study subjects came to believe the false memory as something that really happened to them. Another study found that researchers could influence how an eyewitness remembered a car crash depending on what verb they used — smashed, collided, bumped, hit or contacted — to ask about it. Participants who were asked the speed of the cars when they “smashed” thought the cars were going faster than those who were asked the speed of the cars when they “hit.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitac Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Actually, research shows that you very much can and it's not really an uncommon occurrence.I totally understand what you are saying, but his experience was very public and well documented. He wasn't in a helicopter that was hit. He wasn't isolated. He is a news reporter who was embedded in order to more accurately write and report facts. His whole platform was set up with the purpose to document what he saw with verifying facts. The upsetting thing is that there were plenty of witnesses that could have corrected or corroborated his memories if he had chosen to investigate. Whether he liked the sound of his dramatic story, where he was downed and saved and lied about it, or misremembered the whole event forgetting the details, he should not have reported it National TV as a true story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Indeed. He can't even rap. Not true. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEllHMWkXEU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g87Xyt2agWQ&list=RDg87Xyt2agWQ#t=33 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpd2VaFt5iY&list=RDg87Xyt2agWQ&index=6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awesome possum Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 As usual, Jon Stewart is on point: "Never again will Brian Williams mislead this great nation about being shot at in a war we probably wouldn't have ended up in if the media had applied this level of scrutiny to the actual fucking war." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitac Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 The fact that Williams was suspended without pay certainly leads one to believe that his misrepresentations were willful. Apparently, he was in a helicopter that arrived an hour or so after the original helicopter was hit. He appeared to have investigated what actually happened. This whole thing is sad. I just don't understand why he chose to lie and risk his reputation that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelticgar Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 I just re-read his original statement when he tried to damage control the first self imposed suspension. The level of arrogance is actually pretty shocking. I think when NBS execs read that statement they must have been pretty pissed off. It basically exposed them as being powerless in his eyes. They handed over the keys to the news kingdom to a guy that had lost perspective of his role in the organization. I hope Williams takes some time to reflect on where he has arrived in life and has the clarity to look back and find whatever motivation and initiative he had that allowed him to rise to the level he achieved. In the midst of a career spent covering and consuming news, it has become painfully apparent to me that I am presently too much a part of the news, due to my actions.As Managing Editor of NBC Nightly News, I have decided to take myself off of my daily broadcast for the next several days, and Lester Holt has kindly agreed to sit in for me to allow us to adequately deal with this issue. Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch-MaesterPhilip Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 The fact that Williams was suspended without pay certainly leads one to believe that his misrepresentations were willful. Apparently, he was in a helicopter that arrived an hour or so after the original helicopter was hit. He appeared to have investigated what actually happened. This whole thing is sad. I just don't understand why he chose to lie and risk his reputation that way.As the face of NBC News he got enough attention. I want to know what his motivation was. I think his suspension is a way to audition Lester Holt for the job. But now that Jon Stewart is leaving the Daily Show maybe Brian Williams can do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitac Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 As the face of NBC News he got enough attention. I want to know what his motivation was. I think his suspension is a way to audition Lester Holt for the job. But now that Jon Stewart is leaving the Daily Show maybe Brian Williams can do that.Ditto. 1) Motivation? 2) I like Lester Holt. 3) Jon and Brian could flip jobs. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 The fact that Williams was suspended without pay certainly leads one to believe that his misrepresentations were willful. Apparently, he was in a helicopter that arrived an hour or so after the original helicopter was hit. He appeared to have investigated what actually happened. This whole thing is sad. I just don't understand why he chose to lie and risk his reputation that way. No it doesn't. It just leads one to believe, rightfully, that NBC is embarrassed by this whole incident. And I really don't get how some of you find it so hard to understand people's stories growing in the telling. It's more common then stories actually staying accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spockydog Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 And I really don't get how some of you find it so hard to understand people's stories growing in the telling. It's more common then stories actually staying accurate. In 2003, while driving to work, I was at a set of traffic lights waiting to cross the A1 in West London. Just after the lights turned green, another car, while attempting to jump the red light on the A1, came flying out of nowhere and smashed into the car just in front of me. Witnessing this was traumatic and frightening, but at no point since then have I mistakenly placed myself in the vehicle that was hit. I'm not buying his bullshit, and neither should you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suttree Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 In 2003, while driving to work, I was at a set of traffic lights waiting to cross the A1 in West London. Just after the lights turned green, another car, while attempting to jump the red light on the A1, came flying out of nowhere and smashed into the car just in front of me. Witnessing this was traumatic and frightening, but at no point since then have I mistakenly placed myself in the vehicle that was hit. Cool anecdote bro. Now check out what the research has to say on the topic linked above in post #66. It's been said a number of times before but an inane untruth spoken on purpose or otherwise by a celebrity newscaster is a total non-story. There are manyserious issues with how the US media handled Iraq but this certainly isn't one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spockydog Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Cool anecdote bro. Now check out what the research has to say on the topic linked above in post #66. It's been said a number of times before but an inane untruth spoken on purpose or otherwise by a celebrity newscaster is a total non-story. There are manyserious issues with how the US media handled Iraq but this certainly isn't one of them. Oh criminey! Just reading that article reminded me that it wasn't, in fact, a car that crashed into the vehicle in front of me, but a rabid rhinoceros, ridden by a flame-breathing demon waving a shit on a stick. *rushes out of the house to bag oneself a book deal* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suttree Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Oh shit! Just reading that article reminded me that it wasn't a car that crashed into the vehicle in front of me, but a rabid rhinoceros, ridden by a flame-breathing demon waving a shit on a stick. What have you got against science? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spockydog Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 What have you got against science? Nothing, bro. But there's a world of difference between a bunch of scientists intentionally screwing with people's heads in order to manipulate their memories, and a supposed journalist who is paid to report facts. Surely when you write things down, as he has done countless times, that reinforces the memory of what actually happened. I just don't buy his story. And with regards to my own anecdote, no matter what verbs I use to describe how fast the car was going, it's never going to make me believe I was in the car that got smashed to bits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Cool anecdote bro. Now check out what the research has to say on the topic linked above in post #66. It's been said a number of times before but an inane untruth spoken on purpose or otherwise by a celebrity newscaster is a total non-story. There are manyserious issues with how the US media handled Iraq but this certainly isn't one of them. It might be a non-story for those of us that don't think of television news anchors(? is that what his job is?) as actual journalists or a source of information. But if you do use Brian Williams as a trusted news source, obviously it is a story. Just like we expect anyone else to be good at their job, we should expect this guy to be. If part of his job is being a trusted source of information and he's out there letting a story get exaggerated over the course of a decade, it is an issue. He needs to get perspective on the whole thing. Personally I don't watch television news, but I have watched it in the past, and am operating under the assumption that the talking heads regularly speak untruths or twist the truth or sell shit, so it's not a big deal. But for some people it is a story. If this guy calls himself a journalist and people think of him as such it's not weird that this is a thing for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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