NBC news anchor Brian Williams to give Landon Lecture at K-State

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Source: Charles Reagan, 785-532-6221
http://www.k-state.edu/landon
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

NBC NEWS ANCHOR BRIAN WILLIAMS TO GIVE LANDON LECTURE AT K-STATE

MANHATTAN -- The nation's newest national network anchor will deliver a Landon Lecture at Kansas State University.

Brian Williams of the "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" will speak at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 3, in McCain Auditorium.

"Since joining NBC News in 1993, Brian Williams has covered most of the major news events in the world, including the recent Iraqi elections, the 2004 U.S. presidential election and the deadly Asian tsunami and earthquake," said Charles Reagan, chair of K-State's Landon Lecture Series. "His firsthand experiences with the newsmakers and news events of today should provide for a very interesting lecture."

Williams became the seventh anchor and managing editor of "NBC Nightly News" when he succeeded Tom Brokaw in December 2004. Prior to taking over the anchor desk, he covered the 2004 presidential election for the network, and he also traveled to the Middle East to cover the death and funeral of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

From 1996 to January 2004, Williams was anchor and managing editor of "The News with Brian Williams," a live, hour-long nightly newscast on MSNBC and then on CNBC. He also served as anchor and managing editor of the Saturday edition of "NBC Nightly News" for six years before taking over for Brokaw. As NBC's chief White House correspondent from 1994-96, Williams covered most every foreign and domestic trip taken by then President Clinton.

Prior to joining NBC News, Williams was anchor and correspondent for WCBS-TV in New York. He also worked for stations in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. He began his broadcasting career in Kansas at KOAM-TV in Pittsburg. Before going into broadcasting, Williams worked in the White House during the Carter administration and was an assistant administrator of a National Association of Broadcasters' political action committee in Washington, D.C.

Williams, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, attended George Washington University and the Catholic University of America, both in Washington, D.C.

The lecture can be heard live on the Web at http://www.k-state.edu/landon