Saturday, February 14, 2015

Another Dubious Claim from Brian Williams - I Was in Berlin on Night the Wall Came Down



Appearing as a guest speaker at the Reagan Library in 2008, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams was asked who his "wow interview" was with, or what person would fit the bill. - Newsbusters

Williams tweaked the question before responding in a way that prompted an approving murmur through the audience, which presumably was what he intended.

"What was my wow?" Williams answered (22:15 in embedded video). "I've been so fortunate. I was at the Brandenburg Gate the night the wall came down. I chipped a piece of my own off of that wall and it's framed and hanging in my den with the next day's newspaper headline."

A report filed last night by CBSLA.com, the CBS television affiliate in Los Angeles, questions the veracity of his claim --
What Williams was referring to was the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989, but there are now reports that he actually arrived the day after the wall came down.

Williams' predecessor Tom Brokaw was the only American anchorman to report live from the scene on that historic day.

"If you lose credibility, I think you lose everything, particularly for the Nightly News," said Jessica Levinson, vice president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.
(You can skip to 22 minutes in, but the rest of the clip is excellent, and worth your time, actually.)