Newsman anchors coverage in Texas

Williams says state prime seat to immigration debate

June 21, 2007

By TOM MAURSTAD Media Critic, Dallas Morning News

NBC News anchor and managing editor Brian Williams – or "the James Bond of newsmen," as Jon Stewart introduced him on Tuesday night's edition of The Daily Show – was on the phone ostensibly to talk about his swing through Texas and his network's coverage of America's immigration debate. But what he really wanted to talk about was his favorite show on television.

Anyone who followed his Sopranos blog on Slate.com might naturally think that would refer to HBO's just-deceased series (by the way, count Mr. Williams among those who thought the final scene was brilliant). But no, he wanted to talk about Friday Night Lights, the critically acclaimed but popularly neglected show set in small-town Texas. True, it does happen to be an NBC program, but his enthusiasm is no case of home-team boosterism – his love of good television is pure and infectious.

"I just can't believe how good the show is," he says. "I mean, the dialogue is so true to life, especially when it's parents talking about their kids. I think they recorded some of the conversations my wife and I have had."

We spend the next several minutes talking about all the superlative elements mixed into the show – the music, the cinematography – and the big, complex themes it takes on with such style and sophistication – race, class, sex. But he finally forces himself to talk about what he is in the business of talking about, which is to say the news, specifically the news that's bringing him to Texas. He broadcast from El Paso on Wednesday night, while tonight he will be anchoring NBC Nightly News from North Texas, the exact location yet to be determined.

The news that's bringing him here is the ongoing, unfolding immigration story.

"We can go to Iraq at will and walk down the streets and tell the stories. We can do the same in New Orleans. But this is a chance to dig into a story that really is at the center of American life.

"And coming to Texas, standing on the border in El Paso or reporting on the trans-Texas corridor from Dallas, that's a way of saying, 'This is important and please listen up.' "NBC Nightly News

Tonight at 5:30 on NBC (Channel 5). 30 mins.