Veteran TV news broadcaster Kathleen Sullivan said in a Facebook post that the entire news division at NBC bears responsibility for the false claims that landed the network’s star anchor Brian Williams in hot water.
“Brian Williams does not stand alone when he makes these statements,” Sullivan wrote Sunday. “He is surrounded by fellow NBC journalists who are also guilty … the cameramen, editors, producers and publicity [vice presidents] from NBC who went along with all of this. … Creating the myth.”
Sullivan’s post garnered 140 “likes” from her Facebook friends.
NBC News announced Tuesday it would suspend Williams for six months without pay, after he confessed to claiming falsely that he had been aboard a U.S. military aircraft downed by enemy fire in Iraq. Williams had repeated the story in varying detail since 2003 until an Iraq veteran recently confronted Williams in a Facebook message.
“Sorry dude, I don’t remember you being on my aircraft,” the veteran said to Williams.
Williams backtracked, acknowledging that he was actually aboard a different aircraft that did not come under attack.
While Williams is out, Lester Holt, who anchors “Nightly News” on weekends, will fill in.
Since the fallout, media critics have speculated whether Williams, his credibility now tarnished, will return to the anchor chair.
Sullivan was the first female anchored hired by CNN in 1980. Several years later, she covered the Sarajevo Olympics for ABC News. Two years into her role as anchor for CBS’s “This Morning,” she was fired amid rumors that she was difficult to work with. Her termination came as CBS was on an upswing in ratings.
Sullivan did not respond to a Washington Examiner request for comment.
