Tom Brokaw by Tom Brokaw by Gary Gershoff/WireImage.com
Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw has been named interim moderator of Meet the Press. He will moderate MTP beginning Sunday, June 29 and will serve in that post through November's presidental election.Former host Tim Russert died of a heart attack June 13. Brokaw also hosted a special MTP edition last week that recounted Russert's life and career. Current Nightly News anchor Brian Williams moderated today's MTP telecast.The AP reports Brokaw discussed taking over the moderator post with NBC News president Steve Capus while riding the train back from Washington to New York from Wednesday's memorial service for Russert."The plan is for me to be in place until they can find somebody who can take it over on a permanent basis," Brokaw said.In addition to finding a full-time MTP moderator to take over following November's elections, NBC must find someone to fill Russert's shoes as Washington bureau chief. — J.R. WhalenRelated:• Cheers: A Memorable Tim Russert Memorial• Who ...
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Brian Williams by Joe Kohen/WireImage.com
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams will moderate Meet the Press this Sunday, according to a network spokeswoman. Williams is taking over the chair while the news division's executives deliberate over choosing a long-term replacement for their late colleague, Tim Russert.Williams was a White House correspondent before he was groomed to be successor to Brokaw for Nightly News. If Williams' assignment lasts, he won't be the first to do double duty on an evening newscast and a Sunday public affairs show. Face the Nation's Bob Schieffer continued to moderate his show while he was interim anchor of CBS Evening News. — Stephen BattaglioRelated:• Did NBC News Go Overboard with Russert?• The Biz Asks: Who Will Be Russert's Successor?• Matt Roush Remembers Tim Russert, TV's Political Enthusiast
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Charles Gibson by Ina Mae Astute/ABC, Brian Williams courtesy NBC and Katie Couric by Andrew Eccles/CBS
The "big three" networks are putting ratings wars aside for at least one day in September when ABC, NBC and CBS will each "Stand Up to Cancer" by airing a fund-raiser to benefit research.Each of the nets will donate one hour of commercial-free, primetime coverage to the telethon simultaneously, says Variety. Each of the networks' evening news anchors — Charles Gibson, Brian Williams and Katie Couric (whose husband died of colon cancer in 1998) — made the rounds on each network's morning shows today to promote the telethon, on which they will all appear as well.The fund-raiser will air Sept. 5 and will feature live performances from music artists as well as appearances from film and TV stars, none of which have been announced at this time. — Adam Bryant
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Michael Douglas by Jemal Countess/ WireImage.com
That voice you are now hearing introducing anchorman Brian Williams at the top of each NBC Nightly Newscast belongs to none other than Gordon Gekko. Recalling the decision to recruit Michael Douglas' pipes, Williams tells the AP, "I appealed to Michael's sense of romance and sentimentality and his love of the industry.... I called him and said, 'On top of all you've done as an actor, producer and Academy Award winner, this will mean a small slice of immortality in our industry. It also means wherever you are on Earth, at 6:30 pm Eastern time, you'll know your voice is on the air.'"Now if we can just get Catherine Zeta-Jones to be the weather girl....
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Question: I have seen a few criticisms of Brian Williams' decision to host Saturday Night Live, people saying that as a newsman he would be denigrating his integrity, Edward R. Murrow would be spinning in his grave, yada, yada. I normally don't watch the show, but as a (print) journalist, I was curious to see Williams' performance. I think there's a line between pandering yourself for cheap laughs and showing an ability to poke fun. In my opinion, Williams did a great job of demonstrating the latter. He was really entertaining and showed comedic ability, and it's not like now I'll no longer find his news reports credible. Perhaps this would've been unthinkable in the days of Walter Cronkite or even Tom Brokaw. But even if this was just a gimmick for NBC Nightly News to reach out to a "hipper" audience, I can't help but be happy and relieved for Williams. It must have felt like Lorne Michaels approached him to try skydiving for the first time. And to know he survived it without serious ...
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Question: I don't imagine Saturday Night Live is on your radar, but I'm still a big fan of the show and rarely miss it. (Thank heaven for my DVR, which allows me to record the show and zip past the lamer sketches and lousy musical guests.) The last couple of years I've noticed a trend that's starting to irk me, and I'll use last week's show with Brian Williams as an example. He was a terrific host. The first two sketches he appeared in were hilarious (as a firefighter with a spot-on "New Yawk" accent and an underwhelmed Publishers Clearing House winner), but the rest of the night he only played "himself." Admittedly, he got off a great one-liner in the sketch about the Democratic debate: "The media's decided we just like Hillary better," or words to that effect. But I've noticed that almost every week now, the guest host is reduced to playing him- or herself in a preponderance of the sketches. Perhaps this technique works when the host is a nonperformer (say, Al Gore or Derek Jeter), ...
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Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Brian Williams by Dana Edelson/NBC
Cheers to Brian Williams for his newsworthy turn as host of Saturday Night Live. We all knew the NBC Nightly News anchorman was witty from his guest spots with Jon Stewart and Conan O'Brien. This just in: The guy can act, too. Williams scored big yuks as a Bronx fireman, a disgruntled CW costar and an underwhelmed Publishers Clearinghouse winner. My only quibble: Why didn't they use him on "Weekend Update"?Related: Barack Obama Unmasked on SNL• Read and react to Bruce's opinions on Jerry Seinfeld, Criminal Minds and more!• Share your own raves and rants about other shows on the brand-new Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board.• We may feature your Cheer or Jeer on TVGuide.com or in TV Guide magazine!
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Brian Williams courtesy NBC
If you've ever seen NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on a late-night talk show, you already know he can be a very funny guy. But does he have the comedy chops for Saturday Night Live? We'll find out on Nov. 3, when he's scheduled to become the first active news anchor to ever host. (NBC News veteran Edwin Newman was retired when he was a host in the mid-'80s.) Williams insists the news still comes first — he won't start SNL rehearsals until after he's finished moderating the Democratic presidential candidates' debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. But The Biz hears that a digital short starring Williams has already been shot. We asked him a few questions about his upcoming gig.TVGuide.com: So what would Edward R. Murrow say if he knew you were hosting a comedy show?Brian Williams: It all has to be taken in context. Saturday Night Live has been an American institution for three decades. It's been the center of the Zeitgeist and trends and has contributed innumerable exp...
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Princess Diana courtesy NBC
August 31 will mark 10 years since Princess Diana of Wales died in a high-speed car crash in Paris. For weeks it was a major saga that consumed television news. Here's how some of the journalists who covered it remember the shocking tragedy.Piers Morgan of America's Got Talent who was then the editor of England’s Daily Mirror: I went out to dinner on the night she died. I got a call about 1 am U.K. time saying her car had been in an accident and that Dodi Fayed was hurt and Diana was OK. Then I got a call saying Dodi was dead. By then I realized this was a huge international news story. So I went to my office at the Daily Mirror, we marshalled our team, and by 3:30 or 4 am we had 200 journalists in the newsroom. At 4 am I got a call from one of our journalists who was with British royal secretary Robin Cook, who had heard from the French ambassador that Diana was dead. I remember sitting back in my chair feeling a mixture of emotions. On a professional level, I thought this was...
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Campbell Brown by Virginia Sherwood/NBC Photo
Campbell Brown has officially joined CNN, where she will have her own nightly show. But it’s going to be a few months before viewers can see her. NBC News, where Brown was coanchor of weekend Today and a substitute anchor for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, has exercised a noncompete clause that will keep her off the air until November. Brown will have to take some time off shortly after her arrival because she's due to give birth to her first child in December. Brown said her goal was to get back to work before the presidential primary season kicks into high gear in February 2008. The cable news channel wasn’t ready to announce when Brown’s new show will air, but it’s widely expected that Paula Zahn’s prime-time show will be bumped. — Reporting by Stephen Battaglio
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