Brian Williams announced Tuesday that he will be leaving NBC, where he was once the network’s nightly news anchor before a scandal cost him his job.
Here are some memorable photos of journalist Brian Williams through the years.
1995: News anchor Brian Williams during an interview with host Jay Leno on December 19, 1995.
2000: Republican presidential nominee Texas Gov. George W. Bush (left) talks with news anchor Brian Williams before going live on a television show in New York on September 20, 2000.
2002: Journalist Brian Williams attends the "NBC Nightly News" news conference May 28, 2002, in New York City.
2003: NBC anchorman Brian Williams poses with Dental Technician 1st Class Ervin Borja aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa March 13, 2003, at sea in the Arabian Gulf.
2004: NBC News anchors Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams attend the International Radio and Television Society Foundation’s 2004 Gold Medal Dinner honoring the broadcast network news anchors at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on March 16, 2004, in New York City.
2005: Rabbi Marvin Hier, comedian Jay Leno, NBC News anchor Brian Williams and NBC Universal Chairman and CEO Bob Wright attend the Simon Wiesenthal/Museum of Tolerance National Tribute Dinner honoring Wright on May 4, 2005, in Beverly Hills, California.
2006: NBC News anchor Brian Williams, director/writer Emilio Estevez and actress Sharon Stone attend a special screening after party for the film "Bobby" hosted by the Weinstein Co. at Le Cirque on November 14, 2006, in New York City.
2007: "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams, Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus pose backstage at the sixth annual New York Times Arts & Leisure Weekend at the Graduate Center of CUNY on January 6, 2007, in New York City.
2008: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), moderator Tim Russert, Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) and news anchor Brian Williams during the Democratic presidential debate held at Cashman Center in Las Vegas on January 15, 2008.
2009: News anchor Brian Williams poses with Sesame Street muppets at the seventh annual gala benefiting Sesame Workshop at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 27, 2009, in New York City.
2010: Brian Williams and his wife, Jane, arrive at NBC Universal’s Press Tour Cocktail Party at Langham Hotel on January 10, 2010, in Pasadena, California.
2011: Brian Williams of NBC attends IAVA’s fifth annual Heroes Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on November 9, 2011, in New York City.
2012: Brian Williams and Katie Couric attend the New York Giants Super Bowl Pep Rally Luncheon at Michael’s on February 1, 2012, in New York City.
2013: CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen, actress Allison Williams, news anchor Brian Williams and radio host/ producer Jane Stoddard Williams pose with actress/singer Rita Wilson backstage following her performance at 54 Below on April 17, 2013, in New York City.
2014: News anchor Brian Williams, actress Allison Williams and Jane Stoddard Williams attend the "Girls" Season 3 premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on January 6, 2014, in New York City.
2015: Brian Williams, Allison Williams and Jane Stoddard Williams attend the "Girls" Season 4 series premiere after-party at the Museum of Natural History on January 5, 2015, in New York City.
2016: Brian Williams appears in a portrait.
2017: Brian Williams and Allison Williams attend the New York premiere of the xixth and final season of "Girls" at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on February 2, 2017, in New York City.
2018: Brian Williams, Jane Williams, Doug Williams and Allison Williams attend 100 Women in Finance’s New York gala benefiting Horizons National at Cipriani 42nd Street on November 7, 2018, in New York City.
2019: Brian Williams, Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, Chris Matthews and former Sen. Claire McCaskill in Studio 3A at 30 Rockefeller Plaza on Tuesday, February 5, 2019.
Williams, who landed a nightly talk show on MSNBC after losing the anchor position, has been with the network for 28 years.
According to The New York Times, Williams told colleagues that he intended to step down from his show “The 11th Hour” at the end of the year when his contract with the network expires.
“Following much reflection, and after 28 years with the company, I have decided to leave NBC upon the completion of my current contract in December,” Mr. Williams wrote in a statement on Tuesday. “I have been truly blessed. I have been allowed to spend almost half of my life with one company. NBC is a part of me and always will be.”
Rashida Jones, the president of MSNBC, wrote in a note to staff on Tuesday that Williams “has informed us he would like to take the coming months to spend time with his family.”
“We and our viewers will miss his penetrating questions and thoughtful commentary,” she wrote.
In 2015, Williams’ tenure as lead anchor for the network on NBC’s “Nightly News” was cut short when he was found to have exaggerated his role in some stories.
Williams apologized on air for telling an account of a 2003 helicopter mission during the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Williams had told the story several times, and at first, told it correctly, that a helicopter that was traveling ahead of his was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. Later, Williams said he was on the helicopter that was struck.
Other stories Williams told began to be called into question and he was suspended for six months. Eventually, he was replaced as lead anchor by Lester Holt.
Williams was then moved to MSNBC where he hosted the news talk show “The 11th Hour.”
“This is the end of a chapter and the beginning of another,” Williams told his colleagues. “There are many things I want to do, and I’ll pop up again somewhere.”
