Yesterday, Matt Lauer kicked off the Today Show broadcast explaining NBC's decision to label the war in Iraq a "civil war" — becoming the first major network to do so. MSNBC and Nightly News followed suit.

Brian Williams via the Daily Nightly:

We will also reference our decision today (after much consultation over the weekend with our colleagues, fellow journalists, historians, analysts and members of the military, both present and former) to describe the fighting in Iraq as a Civil War. We believe it is a more accurate reflection of what is happening there, and there was a fair amount of reaction to the decision today... even though a number of news organizations have already made a similar call.