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Arts & Entertainmentbrian williams

Brian Williams is back at NBC — with a big pay cut

By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
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June 18, 2015, 5:45 PM ET

The embattled former NBC Nightly News anchor has been demoted and will receive reportedly less money in his new role, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Williams is being replaced by Lester Holt, who took over for him after he was handed down an unpaid six-month suspension for making factually incorrect comments and “misremembering” details spoken about on-air.

The newspaper reported that Williams will receive “substantially” less money when he returns to the network as a breaking news and special reports anchor for MSNBC, a division of NBC. He had been making at least $10 million a year for the last five years.

“I’m sorry. I said things that weren’t true,” said Williams in a statement. “I let down my NBC colleagues and our viewers, and I’m determined to earn back their trust.”

Unsurprisingly, Williams’ move to MSNBC was met with harsh criticism on social media.

About the Author
By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
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Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

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