Brian Williams

Brian Williams became a dominant force in broadcast journalism as anchor of ‘NBC Nightly News’ beginning December 2004. During his tenure, he led the network’s critically acclaimed coverage of Hurricane Katrina, earning NBC a Peabody Award, a George Polk Award, and a duPont-Columbia University Award in 2005. Prior to this, Williams joined NBC News in 1993, quickly ascending to Chief White House Correspondent from 1994 to 1996. He also anchored ‘Saturday Nightly News’ and rotated on ‘Sunday Nightly News’ until 1999, and served as anchor and managing editor of ‘The News with Brian Williams’ on MSNBC and CNBC starting in 1996.

Throughout his distinguished career at NBC, Williams accumulated an impressive 12 News & Documentary Emmy Awards for his work on ‘Nightly News’, ‘Rock Center with Brian Williams’—which he hosted beginning in 2011—and various special reports. His influence was widely recognized, with Time magazine naming him one of its 100 most influential people in 2007. Further acknowledging his impact, he was awarded the prestigious Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2009. In 2015, Williams was reassigned to MSNBC, where he served as breaking news anchor until 2021.

His extensive foundational experience in broadcast journalism includes pivotal roles at WCBS-TV in New York City from 1987 to 1993, where he anchored weekday noon and weekend night newscasts. Earlier in his career, he held positions at WCAU in Philadelphia (1985), WTTG in Washington, D.C. (1982), and KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kansas (1981).