Bill Williams, a legendary anchor at NBC affiliate WBIR, passed away on Aug. 18 at the age of 91.
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Williams worked for WBIR for almost three decades, with the media outlet dubbing him the “most trusted journalist” in Knoxville, Tennessee.
“For the Channel 10 family, he embodied our motto, ‘Straight From the Heart,’” the WBIR personnel shared.
Bill Williams’ former colleagues reflected on his years at WBIR. He worked at the media outlet from 1977 to 2000. However, He returned to the anchor desk for much of 2006 when his replacement left the station. He re-retired at the end of the same year, making him an anchor emeritus.
Following his second retirement from WBIR, he co-hosted Friends Across the Mountain Telethon and the Children’s Miracle Network telethon with WBIR. He also worked with the outreach program Mission of Hope, which helps people in rural Appalachia.
Years following his second retirement, Williams returned to the anchor desk in 2013 to anchor a “Retro Newscast” on WBIR with fellow WBIR anchor Edye Ellis, former WBIR sports director Bob Kesling, and WBIR anchor Moira Kaye.
Williams is survived by his wife of 31 years, Wanda. He is preceded in death by his son, Mark, who died from AIDS in the early ‘90s.
Bill Williams Previously Opened up About His Time at WBIR
Reflecting on his time at WBIR, Bill Williams once spoke about accepting the anchor position without knowing much about the news station.
“Accepting the job sight unseen. He’d [the news director] seen me, on tape,” Williams recalled. “But I had never seen the station. No idea what I was walking into.”
Williams notably became the first journalist in Knoxville to be live via satellite when he covered the 1983 congressional hearing into the Butcher Brothers banking scandal.
“My, what a wonderful, marvelous thing,” he once said about the experience. “Here I am in Washington, and people in Knoxville can see me, hear me. Of course, it’s old hat now.”
Before retiring, Williams had spoken about the importance of journalism. “We have to have people who still ask questions, still sort out the truth, write the truth, deliver the message. You have to have people who know the message is the most important thing. Not the messenger.”