Mr. Shaman
11-03-2007, 07:30 AM
"Every weeknight, Brian Williams presents himself to the country as a buttoned-down newsman -- crisp, formal and not particularly humorous.
Tonight, the challenge is to be laugh-out-loud funny.
As the first network anchor to host "Saturday Night Live" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/02/AR2007110201952.html?hpid=moreheadlines), Williams is gambling that a boffo performance will showcase his lighter side without eroding his authority as the face of NBC News.
"I don't think it will diminish him," Michaels says. "He knows he won't have to do anything he's uncomfortable with. I don't think the show ever works if the host is uncomfortable."
*
"Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia, says that while he respects Williams, "I associate that position with serious journalism, and I don't think appearing on late-night comedy shows encourages seriousness. Quite the opposite. These people need to decide whether they want to be taken seriously as journalists or they just want to be celebrities. Which is it?
"One reason a lot of people are watching Charlie Gibson is because he doesn't show up on these shows." :rolleyes:
Tonight, the challenge is to be laugh-out-loud funny.
As the first network anchor to host "Saturday Night Live" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/02/AR2007110201952.html?hpid=moreheadlines), Williams is gambling that a boffo performance will showcase his lighter side without eroding his authority as the face of NBC News.
"I don't think it will diminish him," Michaels says. "He knows he won't have to do anything he's uncomfortable with. I don't think the show ever works if the host is uncomfortable."
*
"Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia, says that while he respects Williams, "I associate that position with serious journalism, and I don't think appearing on late-night comedy shows encourages seriousness. Quite the opposite. These people need to decide whether they want to be taken seriously as journalists or they just want to be celebrities. Which is it?
"One reason a lot of people are watching Charlie Gibson is because he doesn't show up on these shows." :rolleyes: