Brian Williams

Brian Williams is a prominent figure in broadcast journalism, known for his extensive career in television news. Williams joined NBC in 1993 after more than a decade in local news and was named Chief White House Correspondent within two years. In this role, he traveled with President Bill Clinton aboard Air Force One and was the only television news correspondent to accompany three U.S. presidents—Clinton, Bush, and Carter—to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in Israel.

Williams became anchor of "NBC Nightly News," succeeding Tom Brokaw. During his tenure as anchor and managing editor, "NBC Nightly News" was the most-watched news broadcast in the United States, with Williams reaching a broad national audience. One of the defining moments of his career occurred during Hurricane Katrina, when he was the only major news anchor to report from New Orleans before and after the storm, including from the Superdome. His coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath earned him the George Foster Peabody Award.

Throughout his career, Williams covered major stories including political conventions, presidential elections, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflict in the Middle East, natural disasters, and mass-casualty events in the United States and abroad. He traveled to more than two dozen countries, many times aboard Air Force One, and interviewed six American presidents. Williams has received multiple honors, including a dozen Emmy Awards, 11 Edward R. Murrow Awards, the duPont-Columbia Award, and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. Time magazine recognized him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Williams later became host of MSNBC's political news show, "The 11th Hour." At the time of his retirement from NBC, he anchored "The 11th Hour with Brian Williams," which covered the 2016 election and its aftermath, including the January 6 insurrection and efforts to overturn a presidential election. In 2026, he launched a new podcast on Netflix titled "We're Back! With Brian Williams."

In addition to his news credentials, Williams made appearances on programs such as "Saturday Night Live," "Sesame Street," and "30 Rock," and was a guest on late-night shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon, David Letterman, and Conan O'Brien. He was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Williams was also announced as host for Election Night coverage for Amazon, marking a return to the anchor desk and highlighting his continued presence in American media.