You can hardly blame Douglas. It wouldn’t be the first time a network has linked its reputation to the sound of a voice. For years you couldn’t find daylight between the voice of James Earl Jones and CNN in the public mind.

But still. With the rollout of NBC’s new voice, we’re unconsciously invited to make a comparison between the signal broadcast television journalist of our time famed for a perfect signature line – “And that’s the way it is” — and an Oscar-winning actor-producer just as famous for another, more unfortunate avatar of the culture: “Greed is good.”

You wonder if NBC brass thought of that.

Clearly, at NBC … things have changed. The torch has been passed to a new generation of network executives smudging the already-blurry line between journalism and entertainment. “We’re in the boredom-killing business!” fictional network anchor Howard Beale screamed from the rooftops in “Network,” more than 30 years ago. Maybe Beale (or more properly “Network” author Paddy Chayefsky) was right.

Meanwhile, Rosie O’Donnell is said to be working on a little something for ABC.

Let's see...CBS has WALTER CRONKITE to introduce Katie Couric and NBC has....Michael DOUGLAS ?

Yeah. That makes sense!

Gordon Gekko: When I get a hold of the son of a bitch who leaked this, I'm gonna tear his eyeballs out and I'm gonna suck his fucking skull.

Wasn't he a news cameraman at....Three Mile Island?? something Point? whatever...
Ya ya, thats right, didn't he photograph the 'vibration'?
Well if he can do that he can be an announcer!
But will Fonda be his co-host? (snark)

Look at that phone! LOL

like a giant shoe

If I were Michael, I'd just stay home and pat my wife.

Oh I see. Tip for the confused: You have to click on the last link, labeled "Earlier" to read what the heck this is all about.

Rachel: No, it was utterly incomprehensible. even after reading your note. "New announcer" sounds like "new anchor" to most of us not familiar with the jargon of the business (also because around the world they're called "news readers" and other things) and since Douglas taking William's job seemed highly unlikely (though was the best guess I could make) then you assume it's satire. Of some sort.

This seriously reads like drunken non sequitur.

It's highlighted on the main HP page and when I came to it... I read it over and over, and couldn't make any sense of it. I really thought I'd had an aneurysm. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, nothing made sense anymore!

Rachel, If something is written in "live blog style", for God's sake... please let your audience in on the mystery!

I've got nothing against Douglas, but this is a terrible voiceover. He sounds like he's doing a funny voice on top of having a cold. Compare by pasting these URLs in Windows Media Player:
Friday:
mms://msnb­c.wmod.lln­wd.net/a27­5/e1/video­/100/nn_ne­tcast_0712­14.asf
Monday:
mms://msnb­c.wmod.lln­wd.net/a27­5/e1/video­/100/nn_ne­tcast_0712­17.asf

What is this about?

Drunk again Rachel?

WTF?

This column makes no sense. It's like Rachel was drunk when she wrote it. So Williams hosted a panel with Douglas in September. How does that mean Douglas is working for NBC News?
From what I know of journalism a story should have a beginning, middle and an end. This as no beginning or end and the middle is just a mass of confused ramblings. Standards here should be higher. No wonder the press corp is in such a mess when crap like this gets passed off a real story.

Kind of continues the American tradition of megastars doing voice work for tons of money but never being caught dead in an actual TV commercial. If SAG goes on strike soon what's NBC Universal gonna do then?

Just watched "Traffic" again- Man, that flick stereotypes Blacks like no other. Even after watching murderous cartels and crooked generals torturing people, yopu end up disliking the Black street characters the most. It would have been great without Douglas' dumb character...

It was either Michael Douglas, or Yoda...