While we are sad to see it happen, we believe the suspension of Brian Williams is necessary.
The NBC Nightly News anchor was one of the brightest stars in journalism and now is persona non grata in our field. As student journalists, we try to uphold the ethics of the profession which include striving for the truth. This serves as a stark reminder of how important that goal is to reporters everywhere.
Despite his long and distinguished career, Williams apparently felt he could play fast and loose with the truth when he wasn't behind the anchor desk. As people, we are all guilty of embellishing stories to our friends from time to time, but as a reporter your audience should never be left in doubt whether your accounts of events are accurate or not.
Especially disconcerting is Williams' use of war as a late-night couch topic. War reporting is one of the most dangerous and important roles the media plays, but to stretch the truth about combat demeans the heroism of soldiers who are really under fire.
Williams' fall from grace plays into a common criticism of the media — that we make ourselves part of the story. While first-hand accounts from reporters are appropriate in certain circumstances, trumpeting your harrowing experiences on the job to gain ratings, respect or admiration is wrong. We must remind ourselves that the audience cares about the story, not our part in it.
Never did we think Brian Williams would be a prime example of what not to do in journalism. No reporter is without faults — ourselves included — but when vanity and pride overtake your reporting it is time to leave the arena. We all laughed at the slow jams Williams did on The Tonight Show, but now that Williams finds himself in a very different jam, we take it seriously. We think it serves as a lesson to all journalists, whatever their pay grade: tell the truth and don't make yourselves the story.