Brian Williams is the long-time anchor for NBC Nightly News. He was respected and entrusted by Americans to tell us the news… night after night… with integrity and without bias. For years he was able to do just that – in 2014, he was named the 23rd most trusted person in America. Last week, however, he slipped to slot 835.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1hs396DQko
All of this is because Brian Williams misrepresented the facts surrounding the invasion of Iraq in 2003. On several occasions, Williams reported that his helicopter was fired upon by the enemy. This, however, was not true. The truth is that another helicopter in his convoy was struck by enemy fire. In an apology he provided last week, Williams says he simply “mis-remembered,” while people in the military claim that he outright lied, including Christopher Simeone, the pilot of William’s helicopter, “This guy is such a liar, and everyone believes him.” Another veteran said, “Embellishing his story is disrespectful as hell to the guys who actually served in combat zones.”
As a result, NBC suspended Williams for 6 months without pay, a net loss of 6.5 million. Many are speculating that his suspension will probably become permanent. Worse, this once-trusted individual, has become the butt of many jokes and his credibility is shot.
Joe’s Perspective: I don’t care what you call it – misrepresenting or mis-remembering, a blatant lie or embellishment – I believe Brian Williams misrepresented the truth on purpose. Williams didn’t need to fabricate such a story to gain notoriety or improve his reputation. This is what’s called a “white-lie.” It’s rather insignificant and no one is truly hurt by it. He probably initially told this rendition at a cocktail party with a drink in one hand. He might have even told this lie for the right reasons – maybe he wanted to demonstrate the tremendous efforts of the military men at his side or maybe he wanted to show the dangers of being a reporter in combat conditions. Enough people began to hear this story and he was caught in a lie… a lie that he continued to tell for years. Regardless, this little embellishment has become a big deal with huge consequences.
My point is that little white lies and small embellishments are simply not worth it. It’s the little things that cast a shadow on your character and diminish your integrity. Once this happens, people begin to doubt your word, even when you speak the truth, because people can no longer trust what you say. Your credibility is shot.
This lesson doesn’t change if you are a news anchor or a freshmen in high school. For example, when I was in graduate school, I had difficulty getting to class on time. I would make up excuses or blame something else – “pulled over for speeding,” “horrible traffic,” “alarm clock,” “family emergency,”… These little fabrications altered how professors viewed me. So, when opportunities came along, I was not seriously considered. It took several years of hard work to change that perception. I had to learn this lesson the hard way, just as Brian Williams is learning it now. I hope you can learn from these examples and not have to learn it through the school of hard knocks.
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1. After reading this and watching the video below, what is your opinion of Brian Williams? Should one “white lie” ruin his reputation and end his career? What should he do to gain back his credibility?
2. Many of us tell white lies or embellish stories, sometimes for good reasons. Can you name several that you have told? Can you think of how that might have changed how others (parents, teachers, friends, boss’s) view you?
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1. My opinion on Brian Williams is that he made a mistake but a very rong one. He had no right to lie and I believe his punishment is very acceptable and appropriate. He should apologize sincerely and try to gain people’s trut back.
2. I have blamed something I did on other people like my siblings. It got people that weren’t involved in trouble and not me.
1. My opinion of Brian Williams is that he did make a mistake and should come out and apoligize publicly about the matter. I don’t think it should ruin his career but it will definatley take a lot of hard work and trust rebuilding for him to gain it all back.
2. I have blamed undone chores on homework. This changes my families perspective because they believe that i’m a hard school worker.
I think he shouldn’t lied, and if he didn’t lie I think his career wouldn’t went down the drain. Yes one white lie should end his career because he can’t be trusted anymore. He shouldn’t do anything to try to build his credibility back up.
2. No I honestly can’t think of any, but I know it has made others look at me way different.
1.i think he should have learned his lesson and know that he cant lie about things like that
2. when i told my teacher i turn my paper in and i didnt
1. 1. After reading this and watching the video below, what is your opinion of Brian Williams? Should one “white lie” ruin his reputation and end his career? What should he do to gain back his credibility?
i think… He should appoligize and try to gain people’s trust back
2. Many of us tell white lies or embellish stories, sometimes for good reasons. Can you name several that you have told? Can you think of how that might have changed how others (parents, teachers, friends, boss’s) view you?
ive told lies before…but for good reasons and i got a very bad consequence
i lied to my friend about getting a job when i turned 17 but i still didn’t
2.
1. My opinion is that Brian should not lie about those things. I think there was no reason for him to lie about this and even if its a little white lie it can completely damage your reputation.
2. I have told people that I haven’t done something but i actually have like maybe about getting someone a present.
1. My opinion on Brian Williams is not the best he lied, therefore is not the most trustworthy person. I don’t always believe that one white lie should ruin someone’s career, but his lie hurt many people and his white lie was bigger than other people have lied about. In order to gain back his credibility by apologizing over and over and prove that he can be trusted again. I can’t remember a specific white lie, but when I get in a fight with my sister I will embellish the fight when I tell my mom about it so my sister gets in trouble and not me. Our parents might not trust us as much.
1. I think one little white lie should ruin his reputation because he knew what happened. He just didn’t want to admit it in case people thought it was a mistake, but not admitting it made it worse. He was on a six-month suspension, causing him to 6.5 million dollars. I think he should apologize and tell everyone why he lied and why it isn’t good to lie. He should know because he faced the consequences of being on a suspension. He should also learn about how honesty affects people’s lives.
2. Several stories that I have told was that I told my parents I didn’t steal their gum and also when I was a little kid, I would say my siblings took my belongings and my parents believed me. It changed how my parents view me because when they figured out that I lied to them, they were upset and told me that I had to earn my trust back. Every since then, I learned that honesty is one of the best characteristics a person could ever have.
1. My opinion on Brain Williams is that he didn’t have to lie on the news that he got shot by the Iraq enemies. Even though it might have been a white lie, lies just set you in the wrong place in life. People probably don’t think his is trustworthy anymore for “joking” around.
2. I have blamed on of my cousins for something that i had broken in my house and they got in trouble . Even though i was the one that broke it .
1. I think one white lie should ruin Brian’s career because he lied to everyone. He put them down. It was his fault that he is on suspension because he choose the wrong thing to do. On little impact can change your life forever.
2.Several white lies I have told are when I was a little kid, I blamed my siblings for stealing candy even though I did. It changed ho people viewed me because they though I was selfish for stealing the candy and also my parents told me that they couldn’t trust me anymore.
I think a since he lied it should ruin his life…He put everybody down when he lied
1. One white lie should ruin his career because of who he lied to. His fabricated story reached many across the country and people felt sorry for Brian. Years later we find out Brian’s a liar and our sympathy was wasted on false tales. Brian shouldn’t be trusted on that scale again because of the way in which he lied to his fellow Americans.
2. A white lie I’ve told is that I took out the trash when I really didn’t. This affected my brother because instead of him getting paid to take out the trash I got his money
1) I don’t think that one white lie should ruin Brian Williams career. For years he was a trusted news reporter and never once made a mistake. Maybe he just wanted a little more publicity or it was a joke gone bad but we should not fully discredit him.
2) One white lie I remember telling recently is telling my mom I had no homework. I actually did but she never found out.
1. My opinion on Brian Williams is that he is the boy who cried who cried wolf. Him telling that little white lie crushed his reputation and the trust all the Americans had for him on NBC. I think this one white lie ruined his reputation and ended his career because he lied about being fired at and now people can’t trust him because this lie. I don’t think Brian Williams can do anything to get his credibility back.
2. A white lie I remember telling is that i didn’t have homework when i really did to my mom.
1. I think he should be given another chance. We all make mistakes he’s not perfect , let him prove himself again.
2. I lied to my best friend about this guy she had a crush on because I didn’t want to hurt feelings . But she found out the hard way and was hurt since she found out I knew. Lieing doesn’t fix anything and if you do people are going to think of you as a lier it’s hard to rebuild that trust back
Trust me .
1.i think one lie shouldn’t effect him i think he should keep pushing forward.
2.i have told that i did this in a video game before and it made my friends try to do it.
1.I think one lie shouldn’t effect him i think he should keep pushing forward.
2.I have told that i did this in a video game before and it made my friends try to do it.
1- it is his fault he was kicked off, but he should get a second chance
2- You can loose your job
I think he should get fired he betrayed the trust
1. i think bryan williams should not be able to regain his place on the news a little white lie can make a big impact
2.when i was little i would always lie about taking stuff .
I think he should get a second chance everybody deserves a second chance. He is ok
I think he should get a second chance everybody deserves a second chance. He is ok
1. Even though he lied, I think he deserves a second chance.
2. It changed our relationship for the worst.
Even just a small lie can still result in major consequences. But it everyone deserves a second chance.
It completely severs the relationship and you cannot build from something broken.
1) I don’t think that one white lie should ruin Brian Williams career. For years he was a trusted news reporter and never once made a mistake. Maybe he just wanted a little more publicity or it was a joke gone bad but we should not fully punish or disown him in any way.
2) One white lie I remember telling recently is telling my brother i took care of his dog but i did not until the next morning. the dog was fine.
1. After reading this and watching the video below, what is your opinion of Brian Williams? Should one “white lie” ruin his reputation and end his career? What should he do to gain back his credibility? there should be no way to get it back because you did it once and you will do it again.
2. Many of us tell white lies or embellish stories, sometimes for good reasons. Can you name several that you have told? Can you think of how that might have changed how others (parents, teachers, friends, boss’s) view you? I say white lies to make sure that people don´t get there feelings hurt.
I don’t think you should lie. If you do you will gain serious consequences and it will effect yout life. From my perspective, I don’t think Brian Williams lied. I think he didn’t know about the real thing, because he didn’t see clearly. He should swear an oath that he won’t lie anymore. He sould keep his career anyways.
1. It is his fault he had lied and he deserves his punishment, he shouldn’t deserve his place again.
2. I remember playing games at night even though my mom favored me the most and then one day she found out. She changed her perspective. But I have learned my lesson and gained her trust again.
1. I do not think that Brian Williams should be telling lies, he cannot really do anything to bring back his credibility.
2. I had once told my brother that I would do my part of the chores but I had completely forgotten until it was late at night.
1 I think that he should be punished and should not be forgiven
2. I was lying about playing a game.
No, one white lie shouldn’t ruin his career and should gain back his trust by never telling another white lie.
It can change the way people look at you because they might think your lying as well.
1. I think that Brian did a wrong thing and he needs to gain the trust back from people if he even can. Even if it is a white lie he still did a wrong thing.
2. When I was little I used to tell stories that weren’t all true and people probably thought I was crazy when I was telling these stories.
I think he did a wrong thing, he just needs to get its trust back
1. My opinion of Brian Williams is that he did make a mistake and should come out and apoligize publicly about the matter. I don’t think it should ruin his career but it will definatley take a lot of hard work and trust rebuilding for him to gain it all back.
2. I have blamed undone chores on homework. This changes my families perspective because they believe that i’m a hard school worker.
1). i do not believe he should have lost his whole career over one lie, even if it was on purpose, he should not be put into a place where he could end up homeless. People taking things out so harshly on him could lead to bad things, even if what he did was bad. I think people should be more forgiving and he should sincerely apologize and try to regain their trust by proving he will be honest from then on.
2). I have blamed not doing homework on several different things, this changed my teachers perspective because they thought i would do anything to get out of work. It also changed my grade because i kept getting 0 for homework grades.
1. I don’t think one “white lie” would end his career because when a person lies they should go back and apologize
2. One white lie I told was I finished my homework but I really didn’t
1.I think one lie shouldn’t effect him i think he should keep pushing forward.
2.I have told that i did this in a video game before and it made my friends try to do it.
1. Williams is responsible for the own demise of his career. He was wrong to cause such tensions in a time where peace was needed. He was unfortunately a trusted source so he diminished his honesty for temporary controversy.
2. I have told a fib maybe once or twice, very small ones. I remember once I told my mom I had done the dishes, but in fact I waited until the 30 minutes before she came to do them. She probably would have been very disappointed because I couldn’t do one thing while she worked hard daily.
1.) obviously if it’s a white lie, it’s probably not true and he shouldn’t let it affect his career. he should maybe have a speech.
2.) one i’ve told maybe was whenever my mom asked if i had any homework, or to maybe take some frozen food out the freezer to thaw out.
1. His reputation should be ruined for telling a white lie. He purposefully told a lie in order to gain attention for himself, which is outright disrespectful, and rude.
2. I told a lie in order to stay out of trouble. It made the person I lied to angry, and only made my punishment worse. When someone finds out they were lied to, it makes the person that lied seem weak, or ashamed. This is because they didn’t have the self confidence, or maturity to tell the truth no matter how it makes them look, or what the consequences will be.
I feel like he should be fired for that one white lie because everyone trusted him and he ruined his reputation by telling that one “little” white lie.
2)I told my dad that i did not have any home work whenever i actually did.
1 lie shouldnt ruin his career because everyone lies and some lies arent even a big deal
2 I lied about feed stray dogs
1 lie shouldnt ruin his career because everyone lies and some lies arent even a big deal
2 I lied about feed stray dogs, my parents still thought of me the same way
1 lie shouldnt ruin his career because everyone lies and some lies arent even a big deal now if it was a big lie then his rep. should be ruined
2 I lied about feed stray dogs, my parents still thought of me the same way
1. My opinion of Brian Williams is that he did make a mistake and should come out and apoligize publicly about the matter. I don’t think it should ruin his career but it will definatley take a lot of hard work and trust rebuilding for him to gain it all back.
2. I have blamed undone chores on homework. This changes my families perspective because they believe that i’m a hard school worker.
1, in my opinion Brian Williams made a mistake lying to the public i believe that he should apologize to the public sincerely. his punishment is very well deserved but his career should not end he needs to regain the peoples trust again.
2,i have blamed undone homework on my siblings which then makes them think that my siblings are distracting and that i cant finish my work.
1. He made a terrible mistake, and deserves to be punished. Maybe he deserved what he got. If he really feels bad, he needs to apologize to everyone he hurt when he lied.
2. I have lied about many things. Especially to my parents. I lied about giving my cousin an Indian burn when we were younger. It may not seem bad but we were supposed to go to Disneyland that summer and because I didn’t fess up, my Aunt stopped trusting me for a while and our trip was canceled.
he made a terrible bad mistake and deserves to be punished
1. it should ruin his career he put everybody in danger because he lied I feel that’s only right
2. no I can not think of anything
1. I think that Brian just made an honest mistake. Out of years of being the most credible person ever I don’t think one little error should end his career. All he can do to fix it is continue to be honest and give to public time to trust him again.
2. Whenever I would miss the bus, I’d always say I didn’t hear my alarm, or the bus came early. I think this made my mom fee like I was irresponsible and unmotivated.
1. My opinion is that Brian should not lie about things like that. I think there wasn’t any reason for him to lie about this and even if its a small white lie it can completely damage your reputation.
2. Lying to get out of being in trouble and blaming it on other things.
1.(a) my opinion on Brian is that he needs to change the way he thinks/ think before he speaks.
(b) yes this white lie should ruin his reputation because a lie about war is a huge deal and could possibly start another war.
(c) have someone monitor him to make sure he tells the truth if he gets a job. it will be hard for him to earn back his credibility because war is a big thing to lie about.
2. (a) when i was younger i claimed that i fed squirrels from my hands. another, one i told was that i could drive and that my parents trusted me to drive alone.
(b) i lost a lot of my friends because of my little lies that i told. i would say that for a while i wasn’t trusted but i started to earn their trust back by being truthful and saying nothing but the truth.
1) honestly, i do not really have an opinion on Williams. Lying is not ok in any way shape or form. Lying can effect more than the person who lied. I do not know if his whole reputation should have been ruined but i do not think nothing should have not happened, there still should have been a consequence, like there was. After you lie, its hard for anyone to trust you again. So baby steps is all i can think of that might help.
2) i actually told my teacher one time in 2nd grade that my dog ate my homework, i’m sure you can just assume what happened.
1. After reading this and watching the video below, what is your opinion of Brian Williams? Should one “white lie” ruin his reputation and end his career? What should he do to gain back his credibility? I think his reputation should not have been totally ruined and i think he should’ve gotten another chance because he made a simple mistake trying to look more brave in front of other people and regretted it.
2. Many of us tell white lies or embellish stories, sometimes for good reasons. Can you name several that you have told? Can you think of how that might have changed how others (parents, teachers, friends, boss’s) view you? I told my mom that i did my simple chores when i didn’t this was a couple years ago.
1. I think he deserved what came to him. He lied to thousands of people, and ruined the credibility of a nation wide show, all to promote his image. Eventually I think he had to just lay low for a little bit and now is back on the NBC News.
2. I have told many little lies, but i constantly lie about what time I actually go to bed. My mom is really big on sleep, but if she were to find the lies out, I might damage my trustworthiness a lit bit.
1. I think that he is a good guy and I think that he just made a mistake. I do not think it should. Be very apologetic to people.
2. I have told a white lie to my parents when I said all of my chores were done and I still had to put my clothes away. I didn’t think much of it but when they found out, they were really disappointed in me.
1. After reading this and watching the video below, what is your opinion of Brian Williams? Should one “white lie” ruin his reputation and end his career? What should he do to gain back his credibility?
Yes the white lie should ruin his reputation, being a news caster you have to be truthful at all times or you’re going to stir up the wrong crowd. You need to be able to be crediable because if no one believes you they are going to think you’re lying even if you’re now telling the truth
2. Many of us tell white lies or embellish stories, sometimes for good reasons. Can you name several that you have told? Can you think of how that might have changed how others (parents, teachers, friends, boss’s) view you?
One time I lied to my friends parents that their son was staying at my house but really he was just at a party. If his parents would have found out it would lose my crediability between his parents and mine and could have costed us being friends
I think his career should not be ended over this, although I think he should reflect and learn over this.
I don’t remember although i’m sure i have I think it would cause them to trust me less.
I am not sure if his show should have ended over this, but he lied to countless people and that is never the way to operate things, although I do believe he should’ve faced the repercussions of the action, I don’t know about it being a career ending action.
I can’t recall any specifically, but I believe I’d be trusted less.
I think his career should be ended
and he should learn from this
1. I think Brian Williams is a bad person for doing that. That is complete disrespect. I don’t know what he can do to earn back respect. Yes one lie can ruin a career and it was a big one not a white lie
2.
I don’t know. And I don’t know
1. After reading this and watching the video below, what is your opinion of Brian Williams? Should one “white lie” ruin his reputation and end his career? What should he do to gain back his credibility? I think that he messed up very badly and it should ruin his career. There is not much he can do to get his creditability back.
2. Many of us tell white lies or embellish stories, sometimes for good reasons. Can you name several that you have told? Can you think of how that might have changed how others (parents, teachers, friends, bosses) view you? I have never lied about anything major, I’ve lied about how I got a an answer on homework but nothing as major as this.
1. After reading this and watching the video below, what is your opinion of Brian Williams? Should one “white lie” ruin his reputation and end his career? What should he do to gain back his credibility? Yes, it should ruin his career because he shouldn’t be lying to people and he should probably work really hard on working this whole thing out.
2. Many of us tell white lies or embellish stories, sometimes for good reasons. Can you name several that you have told? Can you think of how that might have changed how others (parents, teachers, friends, boss’s) view you? I can name over ten times I’ve told lots of lies for the right reasons and yes it would change the view people have on me.
he lied and put people in danger
This story shows how greatly that dishonesty can impact your life and loose peoples positive perspective on you.
Honesty is important, even little lies can get you caught in a web. Be truthful in all that you do, and it’ll pay off in the end.
This was about how the most trusted news reporter “lied” about what happen in a new report and he became the most untrusted with just one wrong sentence.
1. My opinion on Brain Williams is that he didn’t have to lie on the news that he got shot by the Iraq enemies. Even though it might have been a white lie, lies just set you in the wrong place in life. People probably don’t think his is trustworthy anymore for “joking” around.
2. I have blamed on of my cousins for something that i had broken in my house and they got in trouble . Even though i was the one that broke it .
1. That even though lying might be convenient, it still doesn’t mean that its the right thing to do. When you start to tell white lies your brain says that “that wasn’t so bad”, so next time you tell an even bigger lie and the lies just keeps building on themselves.
2. Yes, sometimes telling a harmless white lie to make a story your telling more interesting is okay.
I think Brain career should be ended
if he the 28th trusted person America than a white lie will ruin his career
Even though he lied at least he came clean and was honest.