Inside Media: Pete Williams
Watch video:
- Journalist Pete Williams says the country would be better served if the U.S. Supreme Court were open to press cameras.
- Williams says the fragmenting of the American public makes it more difficult to reach consensus decisions on important issues.
- Williams responds to a visitor question about the perceived lack of coverage of all branches of military action in Iraq, particularly the Marines.
Guest: Pete Williams
Making a transition from being a member of the press, to working in government — and back — was "a little bit of a head snap both ways," said Pete Williams.
Williams, who has covered the Supreme Court and the Justice Department for NBC News the past 15 years, was press secretary to then Rep. Dick Cheney in the 1980s, and later was the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson. He returned to journalism in 1993.
"The first thing you miss is the access to the information, because that’s what we spend so much of our time here trying to get out of people," he said.
His experience in government service has helped his work, he said.
"I feel lucky to have worked in the government. I think being on the inside and seeing how it worked has been an advantage."
