NBC Nightly News broadcasts from Bison Square
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
The Lipscomb University campus was in the national spotlight Thursday, May 22, when Brian Williams anchored “NBC Nightly News” from Bison Square.
Williams was on campus to speak at Nashville’s Hillwood High School’s graduation later in the evening. Hillwood students enticed Williams with a special video inviting him to Nashville. He accepted live on the air during a newscast last month.
NBC officials visited campus earlier this week to make plans for the potential broadcast. Crew members arrived on campus early Thursday morning to begin preparations for the newscast.
In addition, local NBC affiliate, WSMV, reported live from the Lipscomb campus for its early morning newscast, at 4 p.m. and continuing through the conclusion of their early evening news programming at 7 p.m.
The “NBC Nightly News” broadcast will began at 5:30 p.m. and was carried on local Channel 4 in Nashville.
About Brian Williams
Williams began his broadcasting career in 1981 at KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kan. He worked at several local stations in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City before joining NBC News in 1993. He became NBC’s chief White House correspondent and then anchor and managing editor of “The News With Brian Williams” on MSNBC and CNBC. 
In 2004, he took over as anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” the nation’s top-rated nightly news program, a distinction it has maintained throughout Williams’ tenure in the anchor chair. Two years later, Time named him one of the 100-most-influential people in the world. In 2011, NBC News launched “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” the network’s first new primetime newsmagazine in nearly 20 years.
Williams is one of the most highly decorated evening news anchors of the modern era. He has received 11 Edward R. Murrow Awards, 12 Emmy Awards, the duPont-Columbia University Award, the
Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism and the industry’s highest honor, the George Foster Peabody Award.
Williams’ coverage of world events has earned him high praise and several citations for journalistic excellence, many of which were awarded for his work covering Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The New York Times said his reporting of Katrina was “a defining moment,” and Vanity Fair later called his work “Murrow-worthy” and reported that during the crisis he became “a nation’s anchor.” He has covered numerous presidential campaigns, nominating conventions, and elections, and has moderated eight presidential debates. 
Williams is a native of Middletown, N.J., where he was a firefighter for several years. Before his start in broadcasting, Williams worked in the White House during the Carter administration, beginning as an intern. He later worked as assistant administrator of the political action committee of the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington. He attended Brookdale Community College, Catholic University and George Washington University, and is a member of the board of directors of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.