With embattled NBC News anchor Brian Williams’ career hanging in the balance, speculation is rampant on who might replace him in the anchor chair of the network’s “Nightly News” broadcast.
While Williams is out on a six-month suspension without pay, weekend anchor Lester Holt is filling in and he is widely believed to be the natural choice to transition to the spot permanently, should Williams not return.
“If I was NBC, I’d stick with Lester Holt,” Fox News host Geraldo Rivera told the Washington Examiner media desk. “He’s a fine newsman and part of their solid news division, which Brian played a big role in structuring.”
Rivera’s colleague Greta Van Susteren went in a different direction. “[H]ow about a woman?” she wrote on her blog Wednesday. “My suggestion: [MSNBC liberal host] Rachel Maddow. Whether you agree with her or not, she will stir things up and provoke a debate. She is also the right price — she is already on the payroll!”
A source in Fox News’ Washington, D.C., bureau told the Examiner that a name frequently brought up in the newsroom is Willie Geist, a host on NBC’s “Today.”
“Willie is the only standout among our newsroom,” the source said, “and he would appeal to a younger demographic. Not like they have a deep bench over at the Peacock.”
A CNN commentator, who did not want to be named, had no ideas on who should replace Williams permanently but declined to go to bat for Holt. “They should have Tom Brokaw do it until they groom someone and take their time finding and identifying a replacement,” she said.
Brokaw anchored “Nightly News” before he was replaced by Williams in 2004.
The right-leaning and influential Drudge Report floated a rumor Tuesday that Savannah Guthrie, who co-anchor’s “Today,” has “emerged as the top replacement option.”
Brent Bozell, president of the conservative Media Research Center, said NBC should consider scouting out new talent instead of promoting an obvious choice. “If I were in their shoes I would be looking for a brand new face. A complete unknown,” he said, citing the success of Fox News, which is known for turning peripheral journalists into cable news stars.
Matt Lauer, the face of “Today,” was reported by Politico to be a main contender as Williams’ replacement.
The Huffington Post suggested that Katie Couric, currently with Yahoo News, could take the anchor chair. “Couric could make a triumphant return to the network news fold and help NBC News out of its bind,” the Post said last week.
Most far-fetched was a consideration by Variety Editor Andrew Wallenstein, who wrote a column Wednesday entertaining the idea of “The Daily Show’s” Jon Stewart as Williams’ replacement. “Perhaps … Stewart would approach the news less as a satirist and more as a journalist who just happens to have a wicked sense of humor,” wrote Wallenstein.
Stewart announced this week that he is retiring as host of “The Daily Show.”
Williams’ suspension from NBC News came in response to his admission that he had previously made false claims about having been aboard a U.S. military aircraft that was downed by enemy ground fire while he was reporting from Iraq in 2003.
