The Brian Williams debacle: 3 things he did wrong in that apology

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:11 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

The Brian Williams debacle: 3 things he did wrong in that apology 2015-03-13T16:11:50-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

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That whopper the NBC News anchor told on the air a few days back was bad enough. But Brian Williams didn’t help matters with the unconvincing apology that followed.

The text:

On this broadcast last week, in an effort to honor and thank a veteran who protected me and so many others after a ground-fire incident in the desert during the Iraq War invasion, I made a mistake in recalling the events of twelve years ago. . . . I want to apologize. I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire; I was instead in a following aircraft. We all landed after the ground-fire incident and spent two harrowing nights in a sandstorm in the Iraq desert. This was a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran, and by extension, our brave military men and women, veterans everywhere, those who have served while I did not. I hope they know they have my greatest respect, and also now my apology.

What was wrong with that? Let me count the ways.

1. There’s the deflection in the first sentence. Williams seems to be saying: “I was only trying to do something good, but something bad happened instead.” He returns to the theme of saluting veterans and honoring their service later. But really: he is on the record as recounting this same story multiple times over the last decade. This isn’t the first instance. To pretend that is, and that he was only trying to help other people, is galling.

2. Fully half of the statement is not about what he did wrong, but what others did right – again, deflection as if to say, “Let’s talk about something else here.” He goes on about the brave men and women who served. He offers a bid for some sympathy by alluding to the “two harrowing nights” in a sandstorm after. (Translation: “I may not have been shot at, but it was no picnic, folks.”) But he has really very little to say about the fiction he perpetrated numerous times over the years.

3.Perhaps most seriously, there’s no contrition. Williams is Catholic. Presumably, he’s done his time in the confessional. He knows the Act of Contrition, and two key components of contrition: being “heartily sorry” and “firmly resolving…to amend my life, Amen.” While no one expects a journalist on television to invoke his religion in a circumstance like this, it would have been helpful, and earned a lot of respect, if Williams had admitted he had committed a serious breach of trust and that he was going to redouble his efforts to do better, because that is what his profession—and his public—deserves.

Those are just for starters. There may be more to this story that merits a closer look. Already, there are debates from many corners about what really happened, and people are taking a second look at this story and others from the Brian Williams canon. This ain’t over.

But lest we forget: This is a big deal. He’s the managing editor of the highest-rated nightly news broadcast in America. Beyond offending veterans, what he did dishonored and embarrassed the people who work for him, the network that employs him, and the audience he serves. He should have acknowledged that—and acknowledged, too, that he understands the seriousness of this “mistake.”

By any measure, his remarks Wednesday night fell far short.

Photo: Brian Williams via YouTube

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