Brian Williams reportedly turned down the opportunity to anchor the CBS Evening News after his recent departure from NBC.
Williams left MSNBC last year after nearly three decades at NBC News, and CNN now reports that CBS News President Neeraj Khemlani made at least two attempts to recruit him to the network to anchor the CBS Evening News. But Williams reportedly rebuffed the offer and isn't interested in the gig.
Williams most recently served as the host of The 11th Hour on MSNBC, and he formerly anchored the NBC Nightly News. He was suspended in 2015 following revelations that he misrepresented his experiences covering the Iraq War. Williams said he did not intentionally fabricate stories but had misremembered them. "I told stories that were not true," he said in 2015. "Over the years, looking back, it is very clear. I never intended to. It got mixed up. It got turned around in my mind." Williams was moved to MSNBC.
CNN's Oliver Darcy writes that the idea of Williams turning down an offer to anchor one of the big three network newscasts would have been "unfathomable" just a few years ago but that despite the scandal, he is now "in demand" and "fielding proposals" about his future. Norah O'Donnell currently anchors the CBS Evening News, but the New York Post previously reported she was "in danger of losing" the job. A CBS executive told CNN that while "it's no surprise people are wondering who's coming to CBS News next," Williams "is not going to be doing the Evening News. End of Story."
When he announced his departure from NBC in November, Williams told viewers "there are many things I want to do, and I'll pop up again somewhere."