I take it we are stuck with Brian Williams for the rest of the M$NBC evening?...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Probably a contract deal about whoever gets disaster coverage

at whatever part of the day, and for how long. I'm sure his contract will allow him to hand it over to someone else after a few hours. And I'm not at all sure what his demotion three years ago has to do with the quality of his news coverage. In fact, he was largely responsible for NBC winning a Peabody award for his coverage of Katrina, which might have something to do with why he's covering this one:

Williams became anchor of NBC Nightly News on December 2, 2004, replacing the retiring Tom Brokaw, and his first year in that post was marked by coverage of two disasters: the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. His and NBC's Katrina coverage was widely praised, and Williams in particular was applauded "for venting his anger and frustration over the government's failure to act quickly to help the victims." NBC News was awarded a Peabody Award for its coverage, the Peabody committee concluding that "Williams, and the entire staff of NBC Nightly News exemplified the highest levels of journalistic excellence in reporting on Hurricane Katrina." NBC Nightly News also earned the George Polk Award and the duPont-Columbia University Award for its Katrina coverage. Vanity Fair called Williams' work on Katrina "Murrow-worthy" and reported that during the hurricane, he became "a nation's anchor." The New York Times characterized Williams' reporting of the hurricane as "a defining moment."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Williams