News anchor up to his neck in scrutiny
Each night after watching Brian Williams deliver the “NBC Nightly News,” an English teacher in Ohio is moved to go to her computer and write -- about what Williams wore around his neck.
The Brian Williams Tie Report Archive isn’t the weirdest thing you’ll find online, but it’s up there. It’s a snarky, occasionally appreciative and flat-out funny read that will have you looking at Williams as never before.
“People must think, ‘This poor woman must be one of those stalker freaks,’ but it can’t be any further from the truth,” said Nance Donnelly, author of the blog (brianwilliamstiereportarchives.blogspot.com/), who will only say she lives in northeast Ohio.
Donnelly says she’s always found ties slightly ridiculous. She used to notice former NBA coach Mike Fratello’s neckwear, but after he left the Cleveland Cavaliers, she transferred her attentions to Williams.
The report has a sense of history, from Williams’ “Mango Madness Episode” in summer 2007, to the memorable week she caught him wearing the same tie twice in four days.
She liked Williams’ purple tie of Nov. 17, saying it was “almost a whispery confection of a cravat . . . a tie which looks like sugared violets adorning the tops of fancy cupcakes served to Ladies Who Lunch or the tiered cake of a Southern bride whose wedding breakfast is held at a gracious hotel.”
But the knives came out for his Dec. 18 choice -- a “deep orchid cravat with slim white stripes.” She found it “reminiscent of those nightmarish ready-made vinyl Easter baskets that one can find at the drugstore containing hideous cello-wrapped ‘toys’ made in far-off banana republics. . . .”
The following night, however, Donnelly said the newsman recovered nicely with “a cravat of ebony with pale, creamy yellow stripes so narrow that they are almost like pin-striping. This tie is like a jeweler offering you a lovely array of fine, delicate gold chains spread upon a black velvet display platform.”
Three ties she despises are branded “Axis of Evil,” one of them worn so frequently that it’s “TWSNLBRAINDTM,” or Tie Which Shall No Longer Be Reviewed And Is Now Dead To Me.
Williams seems particularly fixated on purple and stripes, she said.
Silly? Of course. That’s what makes it fun. She’s also teaching her students by example that if you want to be a writer, write every day.
Williams is aware of the site. As a former Catholic high school student, ties are second nature. Ask most days what he’s wearing, and he’d have to look down to check.
“I’m flattered that nice people . . . would find anything about me interesting enough to write about at great length and with great passion,” the newsman said. “But with all due respect, I’ve got to keep my eye on the ball.”
