Brian Williams returns to air on MSNBC on Sept. 22 for pope visit

Brian Williams, the former NBC Nightly News anchor who was demoted for fibbing about his reporting experiences, will return to the airwaves on Sept. 22 in his new role as live breaking news anchor for MSNBC during the cable network's coverage ofPope Francis' visit to the U.S.

Williams doesn't have a dedicated time slot or program but will work on daytime programs as news breaks, NBC said.

In June, NBC News announced that Lester Holt, who had substituted for Williams as the anchor of NBC Nightly News while Williams was serving a six-month suspension, would become permanent anchor for the evening news program. It said then Williams would take a big pay cut and work on the breaking news desk at sister network MSNBC.

Williams, who had served as both chief anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, was suspended in February after he was challenged on social media about a statement he made about his reporting tour in Iraq in 2003. Williams said he was on a helicopter that had been hit by enemy fire and forced down. Veterans from the convoy challenged Williams' story on Facebook. Williams eventually recanted the story on air after Stars and Stripes published a story about the online exchange.