Entertainment

Williams and O’Reilly Cases Diverge

Published

10 years ago

February 25, 2015

This April 4, 2012 file photo shows NBC News' Brian Williams, at the premiere of the HBO original series "Girls," in New York. Williams is currently under suspension as "Nightly News" anchor and managing editor for six months without pay for misleading the public about his experiences covering the Iraq War. Bill O'Reilly, Fox News Channel's prime-time star, is accused of claiming he had reported in a combat zone for CBS News during the 1982 Falklands War when he was more than a thousand miles from the front. (AP Photo/Starpix, Dave Allocca, File)

This April 4, 2012 file photo shows NBC News’ Brian Williams, at the premiere of the HBO original series “Girls,” in New York. (AP Photo/Starpix, Dave Allocca)

DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Two prominent television personalities are accused within weeks of each other of misrepresenting their wartime reporting experiences in ways that made those experiences seem more dangerous than they actually were.

That’s what Brian Williams and Bill O’Reilly have in common as each man is besieged with questions about his credibility. Most everything else about their episodes diverge, from the responses to the consequences.

NBC News suspended Williams for incorrectly saying he rode in a helicopter hit by an enemy grenade while reporting in Iraq in 2003. O’Reilly, Fox News Channel’s prime-time star, is accused of claiming he had reported in a combat zone for CBS News during the 1982 Falklands War when he was more than a thousand miles from the front.

___

THE ACCUSERS

The charges against Williams came to light when Iraq veterans objected to him telling the story about being on a damaged aircraft on “Nightly News.” Stars & Stripes, the highly-regarded newspaper geared to a military audience, picked up on the complaints and reported them.

The initial story has led to other accusations of exaggerations or outright falsehoods, involving Williams’ reporting on Hurricane Katrina and encounters with Navy SEALS. NBC has an ongoing investigation into his statements, continuing as Williams was taken off “Nightly News” for six months.

The O’Reilly story came to light in a partisan publication, the liberal Mother Jones magazine, enabling its target to immediately label the story a political hit job.

Like in the Williams case, the O’Reilly story has more than one dimension. Some of O’Reilly’s former colleagues also question his claims about saving a bleeding cameraman when he was caught in an anti-government rally in Buenos Aires.

Perhaps due in part to its origins, the O’Reilly story has yet to resonate within the general media landscape as the Williams case has.

___

THE RESPONSE

Caught in a factual mistake that his own previous reporting had contradicted — there’s tape of Williams from shortly after the Iraq incident explaining that it was another plane, not his, that had been hit — Williams apologized, publicly and to his colleagues. He has not addressed the other stories that have circulated about past statements, and has kept mum about his suspension.

Williams’ initial apology fell so flat that he became a punchline, on the Internet, on late-night comedy shows and, most painfully for NBC, at its own “Saturday Night Live” reunion special.

O’Reilly immediately went on the offensive after the Mother Jones story was printed, attacking the publication and its authors in several media interviews. He explained that his use of the term combat zone for reporting at a demonstration was shorthand for saying he was in Argentina covering the war. He has used his show to dispute characterizations that the Buenos Aires demonstration he covered was not dangerous.

He concedes nothing.

Besides attacking the Mother Jones reporters, he’s gotten into an entertaining back-and-forth with former CBS News colleague Eric Engberg, who said O’Reilly was “completely nutty” after the Fox News host said Engberg was more interested in covering the conflict from the safety of his hotel room.

And on Tuesday, The New York Times quoted O’Reilly’s blunt warning to reporters working on a story about him if he felt their coverage was inappropriate.

“I am coming after you with everything I have,” O’Reilly said. “You can take it as a threat.”

___

THE EMPLOYERS

With Williams both the anchor and managing editor for the top-rated network evening newscast, NBC took the accusations as a very real threat to the credibility of the entire news organization.

NBC executives say they’re rooting for Williams’ return. But the suspension is so severe that many have likened it to a professional death penalty, wondering if Williams can ever make it back to such a prominent respected position.

“The aura of credibility that NBC nurtured and paid tens of millions of dollars for is gone with Brian Williams and I don’t think you’ll ever restore that, even with an apology tour,” said Mark Feldstein, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland.

For all his entertaining turns on talk shows, NBC is paying Williams to be a journalist who is expected to be fair and, above all, truthful.

Fox News, through its chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, has issued a statement of support for its prime-time star.

Although O’Reilly was working as a reporter in Argentina in 1982, he leads an opinion-based show for a combative audience that often feels its star is a target by liberal media members and cultural arbiters. With the accusations against him that are already on the table, O’Reilly is in no danger of losing his job, said Jay Rosen, New York University professor and author of the “Pressthink” blog.

Fox and its fans relish the fight, Rosen said.

“I think he would be in danger if he apologized,” he said.

___

Follow David Bauder at twitter.com/dbauder. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-bauder

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

New Cosby Accuser: ‘Do You Remember Me?’

Don't Miss

Chris Brown Says He’s Been Denied Entry Into Canada

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Black History

Ashleigh Johnson: Pioneering the Way in Water Polo

Ashleigh Johnson attended Princeton University, where she played for the Tigers and dominated collegiate water polo. During her time at Princeton, she became the program’s all-time leader in saves and was recognized for her extraordinary ability to anticipate plays and block shots. She was a three-time All-American and was pivotal in leading her team to multiple victories. Balancing rigorous academics and athletics, she graduated with a degree in Psychology, showcasing her determination both in and out of the pool.

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Ashleigh Johnson Photo: collegiatewaterpolo.org

By Tamara Shiloh

Ashleigh Johnson has become a household name in the world of water polo, not only for her incredible athleticism and skill but also for breaking barriers as the first Black woman to represent the United States in the sport at the Olympic level. Her journey begins as a determined young athlete to a record-breaking goalkeeper.

Born on September 12, 1994, in Miami, Florida, Ashleigh grew up in a family that valued sports and academics. She attended Ransom Everglades School, where she was introduced to water polo. Despite water polo being a niche sport in her community, she quickly stood out for her remarkable agility, intelligence, and reflexes. Her unique skill set made her a natural fit for the demanding role of a goalkeeper.

Ashleigh attended Princeton University, where she played for the Tigers and dominated collegiate water polo. During her time at Princeton, she became the program’s all-time leader in saves and was recognized for her extraordinary ability to anticipate plays and block shots. She was a three-time All-American and was pivotal in leading her team to multiple victories. Balancing rigorous academics and athletics, she graduated with a degree in Psychology, showcasing her determination both in and out of the pool.

In 2016, Ashleigh made history as the first Black woman to be selected for the U.S. Olympic Water Polo Team. Representing her country at the Rio Olympics, she played a crucial role in helping Team USA secure the gold medal. Her stellar performances earned her the distinction of being named the tournament’s top goalkeeper, further cementing her status as one of the best players in the sport’s history.

Ashleigh didn’t just stop at one Olympic appearance. She continued her dominance in water polo, playing a key role in Team USA’s gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her ability to remain composed under pressure and deliver outstanding saves in crucial moments made her an irreplaceable member of the team.

At the age of 29, Johnson appeared in her third Olympiad in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Their first match was against Greece and the US team won easily and Johnson only gave up 4 points. U.S. Olympic head coach Adam Krikorian shared, “She’s an incredible athlete. She’s got great hand-eye coordination, great reflexes and reactions. And then she’s fiercely competitive – fiercely. And you would never know it by her demeanor or by the huge smile on her face. But to us, on the inside, we know how driven she is to be one of the best ever to do it.”

Team USA Women’s Water Polo ended their Olympic season in fourth place after a 10 – 11 loss to the Netherlands. Johnson only allowed 37 percent of the shots from the Netherlands.

Beyond her achievements in the pool, Ashleigh has used her platform to advocate for diversity in water polo and sports in general. As a trailblazer, she recognizes the importance of representation and works to encourage young athletes, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to pursue their dreams.

Ashleigh has spoken about the challenges she faced as a Black woman in a predominantly white sport and how she turned those obstacles into opportunities for growth.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

In ‘Affrilachia: Testimonies,’ Puts Blacks in Appalacia on the Map

Published

4 days ago

December 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Author Chris Aluka. Photo courtesy of Chris Aluka.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

An average oak tree is bigger around than two people together can reach.

That mighty tree starts out with an acorn the size of a nickel, ultimately growing to some 80 feet tall, with a canopy of a hundred feet or more across.

And like the new book, “Affrilachia” by Chris Aluka Berry (with Kelly Elaine Navies and Maia A. Surdam), its roots spread wide and wider.

Affriclachia is a term a Kentucky poet coined in the 1990s referring to the Black communities in Appalachia who are similarly referred to as Affrilachians.

In 2016, “on a foggy Sunday morning in March,” Berry visited Affrilachia for the first time by going the Mount Zion AME Zion Church in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The congregation was tiny; just a handful of people were there that day, but a pair of siblings stood out to him.

According to Berry, Ann Rogers and Mae Louise Allen lived on opposite sides of town, and neither had a driver’s license. He surmised that church was the only time the elderly sisters were together then, but their devotion to one another was clear.

As the service ended, he asked Allen if he could visit her. Was she willing to talk about her life in the Appalachians, her parents, her town?

She was, and arrangements were made, but before Barry could get back to Cullowhee, he learned that Allen had died. Saddened, he wondered how many stories are lost each day in mountain communities where African Americans have lived for more than a century.

“I couldn’t make photographs of the past,” he says, “but I could document the people and places living now.”

In doing so he also offers photographs that he collected from people he met in ‘Affrilachia,’ in North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, at a rustic “camp” that was likely created by enslaved people, at churches, and in modest houses along highways.

The people he interviewed recalled family tales and community stories of support, hardship, and home.

Says coauthor Navies, “These images shout without making a sound.”

If it’s true what they say about a picture being worth 1,000 words, then “Affrilachia,” as packed with photos as it is, is worth a million.

With that in mind, there’s not a lot of narrative inside this book, just a few poems, a small number of very brief interviews, a handful of memories passed down, and some background stories from author Berry and his co-authors. The tales are interesting but scant.

For most readers, though, that lack of narrative isn’t going to matter much. The photographs are the reason why you’d have this book.

Here are pictures of life as it was 50 years or a century ago: group photos, pictures taken of proud moments, worn pews, and happy children. Some of the modern pictures may make you wonder why they’re included, but they set a tone and tell a tale.

This is the kind of book you’ll take off the shelf, and notice something different every time you do. “Affrilachia” doesn’t contain a lot of words, but it’s a good choice when it’s time to branch out in your reading.

“Affrilachia: Testimonies,” by Chris Aluka Berry with Kelly Elaine Navies and Maia A. Surdam

c.2024, University of Kentucky Press, $50.00.