Amazon may tap Brian Williams to host an election night special

By wazup on September 28, 2024 Comments Closed / 69 views

Amazon Prime is reportedly preparing to make a one-time play for primetime news.

By Wes Davis, a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020.

Brian Williams sitting at a desk, with his chin resting on his fist. — a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images for Meet the Press

Former news anchor Brian Williams is in talks to host an Amazon Prime election night special, reports Variety. The show would apparently be a “non-partisan discussion” as election night news comes in and could include multiple guests.

Williams has been out of the news game for a while. He lost his role as anchor of NBC’s Nightly News after some of his reporting was found to have been repeatedly embellished. He went on to host MSNBC’s 11th Hour until he resigned from the network in 2021.

If the deal goes through, Williams would begin the November 5th presidential election night broadcast as early as 5PM ET and continue for up to eight hours — or longer if the election is too close to call, writes Variety, citing unnamed sources familiar with the talks. The show reportedly wouldn’t keep up with breaking news; instead, Williams and his guests would explain events as the night goes on. And the show won’t call the race, according to The Daily Beast.

The deal isn’t final, Variety reported. Its sources also cautioned that the news doesn’t necessarily mean Amazon is planning on regular news programs.