After NBC News Anchor copped to fibbing about being on a Chinook under fire in Iraq, watchdogs began to question more of the anchor’s tallest tales.
Louisiana’s Hayride is on the Hurricane Katrina beat and has serious doubts about the veracity of Williams’ claim that he saw a dead body floating down the street:
But we have another question about things Williams has said. What about the “seminal” event in his journalistic career, in which Williams alleges he saw a body float past his French Quarter hotel window during Katrina? Certainly the assertion there were floating bodies in New Orleans streets is potentially true. But in the French Quarter?Wikipedia says “The famous French Quarter dodged the massive flooding experienced in other levee areas.” Also…As with other parts of the city developed before the late 19th century and on dry land predating New Orleans’s levee systems, the French Quarter remained substantially dry following Hurricane Katrina. It is 5 feet (1.5 m) above sea level. Some streets had minor flooding, and several buildings suffered significant wind damage. Most of the major landmarks suffered only minor damage. In addition, the Quarter largely escaped the looting and violence that occurred after the storm; nearly all of the antique shops and art galleries in the French Quarter, for example, were untouched.So if there was no major flooding in the Quarter, how does Brian Williams spot a dead body floating past his hotel window?You need a good 18 inches of standing water to float a body, if not more. If there was 18 inches of flood water in the Quarter, we’d all know about it.
And a good point they make. But given the current state of network news, we’d be shocked if any repercussions followed Brian Williams’ Paul Bunyanesque reporting.
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