There are many unwritten rules in the world of television news. One of them is to avoid coming off as a lightweight.
Sure, you may be a lightweight with little journalistic experience or passion for storytelling, but do NOT under any circumstances let that slip out (LOL).
In other words, do NOT put anything about “acting” or “pageants” or other some-such art-like performance on your resume. This is a surefire way to either have your resume cast aside, or to get laughed out of the newsroom if you somehow manage to slip through – and your dirty little secret slips out later. 
Pageants and acting are just not a pathway to journalism, and while you have may have dabbled in those areas in the past, they in no way play a role in your qualifications to pursue a career in TV news from a knowledge, skills and abilities perspective.
It might seem like a stretch, but I think this is yet another reason why Brian Williams’ may have permanently soiled his nest at 30 Rock. Newsies want the guy in the big chair to be the real deal. Not a teller of tall tales, and not somebody who pitched himself to replace Leno & Letterman on late night comedy shows – which according to several reports – is just what he did.
Williams you see, apparently wants to be an entertainer – and while his journalistic exploits blunted that rap when he was in the anchor chair, now – because of all the other water under the proverbial bridge – I think what was once tolerated in the form of his many guest-shots on entertainment programs, is going to really hurt him on the way back in.
Because of that, and all the internal strife plaguing NBC news recently that goes beyond the Williams debacle, Williams return may face the biggest challenge internally rather than externally. In fact, at least one poll shows that his public support remains pretty high. I’d hate to think what an internal poll might suggest.
But let’s face it – the only poll that matters is going to be the network’s research. If after six months audience has hung-in-there and Lester Holt has hit all the marks, Williams is probably gone – even though his old pal Andy Lack is back running the news division.
If not though – if audience spikes downward and research shows Williams is the reason – well, Williams may actually make it all the way back. But again, I think the stories about his pitching entertainment gigs are going to pile-on to haunt him internally.
Brokaw and others in the news division apparently made it pretty hard on Williams even before all this happened, but if management invites him back, the troops are going to roll-their-eyes whenever he walks by.
It will be awfully hard for hundreds of people in the news division to feel good about the multi-millionaire, fibber and would-be late night comedian anchoring their network’s flagship newscast.
My point: no matter what, it’s just never going to be the same for him – perhaps more so inside the building than out.
