Brinkley, David (1920-2003), became one of the most popular and respected journalists in the history of American television. From 1956 to 1970, Brinkley teamed with Chet Huntley to anchor a nightly newscast for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). The program was one of the most watched in TV history and helped bring a new sense of responsibility and depth to television news programming.
David McClure Brinkley was born on July 10, 1920, in Wilmington, North Carolina. After attending the University of North Carolina and Vanderbilt University, he worked as a reporter for the Wilmington Star-News from 1938 to 1941. He joined NBC as a newswriter and radio broadcaster in 1943 and became a correspondent in 1951.
Brinkley and Huntley jointly covered the 1956 Democratic and Republican political conventions. They worked so well together that NBC teamed them in the nightly “NBC News,” later renamed the “Huntley-Brinkley Report.” Their nightly sign-off of “Good night, David; Good night, Chet” became a familiar part of American culture. After Huntley retired in 1970, Brinkley continued with John Chancellor as his partner. Brinkley retired from the telecast in 1979 but served as the anchorman of the weekly news program “ABC This Week” from 1981 to 1997. He died on June 11, 2003.
