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MSNBC & NBC News Anchor Brian Williams Exiting at End of Year

Published Tue, 09 Nov 2021 20:06:10 -0600

With a career that found him working for NBC News beginning in 1993, Brian Williams made the news himself on Tuesday with word that the anchor is leaving MSNBC and NBC News at the end of the year. "This is the end of a chapter and the beginning of another. There are many things I want to do, and I'll pop up again somewhere," wrote Williams in a statement. Joining as the 24-hour-ish news channel's chief anchor in 2015, Williams would go on to host the late-night program The 11th Hour in September 2016 (with the show expected to end once Williams leaves). From 2004 to 2015, Williams would be the main anchor for NBC Nightly News, taking over the big chair from the previous anchor Tom Brokaw. In February 2015, Williams was suspended for six months over a false story about his time covering the U.S.'s 2003 invasion of Iraq. He would return to NBC News later that year to anchor MSNBC's coverage of Pope Francis' visit to the United States. MSNBC President Rashida Jones shared the news with the staff in a memo, which follows:

After nearly three decades as an award-winning journalist and anchor at MSNBC and NBC News, Brian Williams has informed us he would like to take the coming months to spend time with his family. He will be signing off from The 11th Hour at the end of the year.

Brian's time at NBC has been marked by breaking countless major stories, attracting leading journalists and guests to his programs, and most especially, great resiliency. He has built a fiercely loyal following for The 11th Hour and we and our viewers will miss his penetrating questions and thoughtful commentary.

Please join me in expressing our deep gratitude for 28 years of devoted service to our viewers and wishing him the very best.

Rashida Jones
President, MSNBC

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