Brian Williams returned to the airwaves of MSNBC as an anchor to cover Pope Francis' visit to the U.S. on Tuesday, seven months after he was suspended from NBC News for misrepresenting events he covered as a reporter.
"Good day. I'm Brian Williams at MSNBC headquarters. In a short time Pope Francis will arrive in this country for the first time," Brian Williams said. He made no mention of the media scandal that galvanized the nation in February and cost him his prestigious post at NBC.
The anchor got down to business straightaway with his coverage, introducing Chris Jansing, who was at Joint Base Andrews waiting for the Pope's arrival, followed by short interviews with Maria Shriver and Jose Diaz-Balart. "Meet the Press" anchor Chuck Todd was also in the studio with him to discuss the importance of the Pope's trip, according to the Associated Press.
Williams eventually loosened up as the coverage went along, describing the weather at Joint Base Andrews as "a light precip is falling, of the drizzle variety." At one point, he was talking to NBC correspondent Anne Thompson, who was on the aircraft with the pope. "Thank you, Anne. Grab your personal belongings," he said, Deadline reported.
Williams will now cover breaking news on MSNBC, which is NBC's sister cable news network where he previously used to work, and will get a fixed time-slot. He will also anchor special reports on NBC from time to time.
NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack said last week that Williams is one of the leading anchors within his generation who cover live, breaking news on television.
"I'm confident that he deserves a second chance and I'm confident that Brian is as good at his job as he was last year at this time," Lack said. "I think viewers will engage with good work. It's not going to happen overnight. ... We're playing a long game here."
