# Brian Williams Helicopter story: blowhard BS, but not a fireable offense **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 6, 2015, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953 "2015-02-06T07:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/61 "2015-02-07T01:45:15Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Just like people here who criticize Fox News. Right? > > I’d agree with your wider points, but that was too easy to pass up. My point is clearly meant to be hyperbole. Sorry that was missed be some. I also don’t believe anyone should be fired for saying Brian Williams be fired. When we are trying to claim equivalence between the right and the left in the media do we have any examples of NBC hosts calling on FOX News to fire people for inaccurate statements? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/62 "2015-02-07T02:43:27Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > My point is clearly meant to be hyperbole. Sorry that was missed be some. I also don’t believe anyone should be fired for saying Brian Williams be fired. > > When we are trying to claim equivalence between the right and the left in the media do we have any examples of NBC hosts calling on FOX News to fire people for inaccurate statements? “Inaccurate statements?” That’s a very self-serving way of framing the question, isn’t it? Williams is accused of deliberately fabricating a event that he himself experienced. Lumping that kind of inaccuracy in with more attenuated examples of error is favorable to your point…but not favorable to a useful comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/63 "2015-02-07T02:44:27Z")
And fir whatever it’s worth, I don’t think the man deliberately lied. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/64 "2015-02-07T02:49:46Z")
Blumenthal blatantly lied about having served in Vietnam, on numerous occasions, and got elected to the Senate afterwards. Maybe if Brian Williams is fired, he can run for office. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/65 "2015-02-07T07:51:47Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/66 "2015-02-07T07:53:34Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/67 "2015-02-07T09:53:32Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Williams is accused of deliberately fabricating a event that he himself experienced. > [@Bricker](#): > > And fir whatever it’s worth, I don’t think the man deliberately lied. Is there a difference between these two statements? Or are you saying that he’s not guilty of the thing he’s being accused? Also, who is accusing him? The OP is not accusing him of deliberately fabricating an event. I think the point of the person you quoted was that the people accusing him of deliberately fabricating an event likely have made inaccurate statements that can be construed as deliberately fabricating events. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/68 "2015-02-07T12:30:59Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > “Inaccurate statements?” > > **That’s a very self-serving way of framing the question, isn’t it?** > > Williams is accused of deliberately fabricating a event that he himself experienced. Lumping that kind of inaccuracy in with more attenuated examples of error is favorable to your point…but not favorable to a useful comparison. There’s a lot of that going on in this thread. If NBC fire Williams then fine, if they don’t(and they have a right not to) then this story will be dangling over the NBC News for the forseeable future. If NBC defenders wish for that to happen then they have to deal with the consequences of NBC news going down a notch or so in the publics estimation. Also, Williams is not just the anchor of NBC news but also managing editor of its nightly news. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/69 "2015-02-07T16:03:58Z")
So the vet that he took to that hockey game and made a big event out of didn’t actually do the stuff he was being recognized for then? I thought the whole reason he was getting the shout out from BW and the team was because of his role in bringing BW home safe and sound. Is he as guilty of bullshittery as BW since he knew that the story his accolades were based on were plain BS? What was the story there? ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/70 "2015-02-07T17:57:27Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > It was 12 years ago. No one, including the soldiers that were there can be expected to have and accurate record of events, just from their own memories. > > What this “scandal” should show people is how unreliable human memory is as a record of events. Intuitively, it would seem that no one would “misremember” such a major event. But intuition is often wrong, and the science is pretty clear. Exactly. I remember one time on 405 when my car caught fire, flames were streaking from the hood to the back of the car, I had to pull over on the shoulder and get out. Oh, wait a minute, silly me, I wasn’t inside that car, I was watching this happen from the other lane. I could have sworn I singed my hair in that incident, dang, these memories just aren’t very reliable. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/71 "2015-02-07T22:06:05Z")
I see he has voluntarily “taken a break” from his on-air duties “for a few days”. I doubt he will be back any time soon. Story [here]([http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/Brian](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/Brian) Williams Suspended Himself From NBC Nightly News Broadcast Read Latest Breaking News from [Newsmax.com](http://Newsmax.com) [http://www.Newsmax.com/Newsfront/Brian-Williams-nightly-news-NBC/2015/02/07/id/623410/#ixzz3R6E8u9Up](http://www.Newsmax.com/Newsfront/Brian-Williams-nightly-news-NBC/2015/02/07/id/623410/#ixzz3R6E8u9Up) Urgent: Rate Obama on His Job Performance. Vote Here Now!). ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/72 "2015-02-07T22:28:06Z")
I’m willing to give BW a pass on this, chalking it up to a false memory born out of a traumatic situation. However, it sounds like other stories he’s told (such as regarding his reporting on Hurricane Katrina) are starting to come under scrutiny and when piled up they do start to seem like enjoys tall tales and self-aggrandizement. If it was just the helicopter story, I’d let it go, but it seems like there could be more to it. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/73 "2015-02-07T23:43:41Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Is there a difference between these two statements? Or are you saying that he’s not guilty of the thing he’s being accused? Yes. The first one observes that people are saying Williams deliberately lied. The second says that I personally, don’t think he did. > [@](#): > > Also, who is accusing him? The OP is not accusing him of deliberately fabricating an event. > > I think the point of the person you quoted was that the people accusing him of deliberately fabricating an event likely have made inaccurate statements that can be construed as deliberately fabricating events. Have they? I’m drawing a distinction between a event that one personally experienced and an event for which one is relaying information. Of course, it may be that there are plenty of examples of Fox News people lying about events they personally witnessed. I don’t know of any, but I certainly don’t reject the possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/74 "2015-02-08T01:20:24Z")
The dude lied to inflate his street cred. He used this lie to go on Letterman and promote himself. Is it really that difficult to understand? Are we to believe he mistook his own helicopter for someone else’s? What a joke. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/75 "2015-02-08T03:07:26Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Consider him a trustworthy source for news. No But that applies to EVERY commercial television “news” organization. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/76 "2015-02-08T03:27:06Z")
Reporters are supposed to report the news, not create it. They’re certainly not supposed to be the news for having created it. He’s not the first to cross the line, and he certainly won’t be the last. Firing may be a bit much. Maybe a lateral transfer to the mail room. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/77 "2015-02-08T03:51:19Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Does anybody actually think news anchors are trustworthy? They’re paid personalities, just like Lady Gaga and Shrek. The guys on camera aren’t reporters or journalists, despite their pretenses. They just read what the teleprompter says. The problem here is that they use to be part of the news process. They would be in the mix of people checking over information as it came in. Accuracy was considered important. that was when there were 3 networks that together held all viewership for televised news. When cable came along the same viewership was divided into many networks. That was watered down by the internet. It costs money to report the news and that money disappeared with the dilution of the major news organizations. Brian Williams is an excellent presenter of the news. He presents an image that harkens back to the days of Cronkite. But he puts his employer in a real bind when that franchised image is tarnished with a bizarre story that didn’t happen. You don’t misremember being shot down. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/78 "2015-02-08T06:48:11Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Does anybody actually think news anchors are trustworthy? They’re paid personalities, just like Lady Gaga and Shrek. The guys on camera aren’t reporters or journalists, despite their pretenses. They just read what the teleprompter says. He wasn’t a News anchor at the time that either this or his Katrina story took place. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/79 "2015-02-08T07:52:33Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Reporters are supposed to report the news, not create it. They’re certainly not supposed to be the news for having created it. Unless they are Hunter S. Thompson and it’s gonzo reporting. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/80 "2015-02-08T09:06:00Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Yes. The first one observes that people are saying Williams deliberately lied. The second says that I personally, don’t think he did. Thanks for the clarification. I thought you might be making a different point. > [@Bricker](#): > > Have they? > > I’m drawing a distinction between a event that one personally experienced and an event for which one is relaying information. > > Of course, it may be that there are plenty of examples of Fox News people lying about events they personally witnessed. I don’t know of any, but I certainly don’t reject the possibility. You got me there. I don’t watch Fox News. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953.md?page=5)