Brokaw, Tom (1940-…), is an American journalist and former newscaster. He was the anchor and managing editor of the NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation) nightly news broadcast from 1982 to 2004. He was known for a calm, easygoing style of news delivery.
Thomas John Brokaw was born on Feb. 6, 1940, in Webster, South Dakota. His admiration of newscasters Chet Huntley and David Brinkley sparked his interest in journalism. At the age of 15, Brokaw began working after school as an announcer at a Yankton, South Dakota, radio station. While attending the University of South Dakota, he worked as a reporter for several radio stations. After graduating from college in 1962, Brokaw took a position as a newscaster and news editor at the NBC affiliate television station in Omaha, Nebraska. He then worked at NBC affiliates in Atlanta and Los Angeles. In 1973, he became NBC’s White House correspondent.
Brokaw became the host of NBC’s “Today” morning news program in 1976. In 1982, he became co-anchor, with Roger Mudd, of “NBC Nightly News.” In 1983, Brokaw became the newscast’s sole anchor. Brokaw stepped down from the anchor position with NBC in 2004, but he continued to appear on the network on occasion as a special correspondent. In 2008, Brokaw acted as interim host of NBC’s “Meet the Press” after the death of host Tim Russert. Brokaw received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the country’s highest civilian honors, in 2014. In 2021, Brokaw announced his retirement from NBC’s news division.
Brokaw has written a number of books. Three of them—The Greatest Generation (1998); The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections (1999); and An Album of Memories: Personal Histories from the Greatest Generation (2001)—tell stories of individual Americans during the Great Depression of the 1930’s and World War II (1939-1945). Brokaw’s other books include the memoir A Long Way from Home (2002) and The Fall of Richard Nixon: A Reporter Remembers Watergate (2019).
See also Watergate .
