Amazon and Brian Williams' Unusual Election Night Experiment

This: a former NBC anchor, Brian Williams, partners with Amazon to cover the presidential election. No, we’re not in the future — it’s happening this November! Amazon is diving into live news for the first time, and they’ve picked a big name for the job. Williams, who’s covered elections before, is now taking a leap of faith with Amazon. They don’t have a news division like NBC or CNN, but Williams says they’ve built a temporary one just for election night. They’ve hired a mix of reporters and commentators, including some familiar faces like James Carville and Shepard Smith. Amazon promises a streamlined broadcast, less cluttered than traditional news. They’ll use a massive MGM soundstage, once home to “The Wizard of Oz, ” now tricked out with the latest tech. Williams is excited, seeing this as a chance to get on the streaming train. But he knows the election night mystery might not be solved by the time he signs off. After all, it’s a big undertaking for Amazon, and who knows what comes next?