Brian Williams, Jon Stewart And Modern Media Trust

47:20

February 13, 2015

Our wild media moment. Brian Williams, off air. Jon Stewart, headed off. David Carr and Bob Simon, gone. We’ll look at lines crossed and new realities in the media turmoil.

In this Nov. 7, 2014 file photo, Jon Stewart poses for a portrait in promotion of his film,"Rosewater," in New York. Comedy Central announced Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015, that Stewart will will leave "The Daily Show" later this year. (AP)

We try not to make the media the story, but this week it simply is. News anchor Brian Williams, benched by NBC for troubles with the truth. "The Daily Show’s" Jon Stewart, the stand-up comedian who remade the American conversation around news and our lives, will step down, quit, leave the show. Veteran CBS News correspondent Bob Simon, dead in a car wreck in Manhattan. And the one and only David Carr, gravel-voiced onetime crack addict media columnist for the New York Times, collapses in the newsroom. Dies at 58. This hour On Point: A watershed week, and the news media now.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Brian Stelter, senior media correspondent for CNN, where he is the host of Reliable Sources. (@brianstelter)

David Folkenflik, media correspondent for NPR News. (@davidfolkenflik)

Zara Kessler, editor at Bloomberg View. (@zarakessler)

From Tom’s Reading List

NPR News: Brian Williams' Suspension Brings Attention To Tom Brokaw -- "NBC and its parent company, Comcast, have a dilemma - whether to stick with the top-rated TV anchor whose credibility is damaged. Brian Williams was suspended yesterday for six months after lying about a wartime reporting experience. Among the people who carry great weight behind the scenes at NBC News is Williams' retired predecessor, Tom Brokaw."
Bloomberg View: Stewart Matters More Than Williams — "Network news may be a slowly diminishing breed, with the kind of older audience that makes advertisers yawn, but it still dominates the seat-of-the-pants production of the Daily Show. The average NBC Nightly News audience in 2008 was 8.56 million; by 2013, it was down only slightly to 8.43 million, according to Nielsen Media Research.

CNN Money: Lester Holt, NBC's marathon man — "Normally the weekend anchor for NBC News, since Monday, Holt's also been filling in for Brian Williams on the weekday 'NBC Nightly News.' By Friday night he'll have anchored for seven days straight — so who will be filling in for him for this weekend? No one. Holt will remain in his weekend chairs — that's chairs, plural, the 'Today' show, 'Nightly News' and 'Dateline' — on Saturday and Sunday to help stabilize a news division that is in turmoil because of Williams' suspension and potential departure."

This program aired on February 13, 2015.