Douglas Brinkley says Williams should have followed Roosevelt 's golden rule for all reporters : never self - aggrandize . At his worst he doubles as a multimedia showman , the class clown , eliciting laughs by lampooning his own nightly news straight-man act . He says the reporters got tripped up when he promised to also be a showman .
Douglas Brinkley says Williams should have followed Roosevelt 's golden rule for all reporters : never self - aggrandize . He says the reporters got tripped up when he promised to also be a showman .