Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw
(born February 6, 1940) is an American television journalist and author. Brokaw is best known as the former anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News
. His last broadcast as anchor was on December 1, 2004, after which he was succeeded by Brian Williams. In the latter part of Brokaw's tenure, NBC Nightly News
became the most watched cable or broadcast news program in the United States. Brokaw also hosted, wrote, and moderated special programs on a wide range of topics. He was recently the interim moderator of NBC's Meet the Press
, taking over following the death of Tim Russert. Throughout his career, he has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors.
Brokaw serves on the Howard University School of Communications Board of Visitors and on the boards of trustees of the University of South Dakota, the Norton Simon Museum, the American Museum of Natural History and the International Rescue Committee. As well as his television journalism, he has written for periodicals and has authored books. He still works at NBC as a Special Correspondent and has worked on various documentaries for The History Channel and ESPN since his retirement as anchor.
He is the only person in NBC's history to host all three major NBC News programs in his long career: The Today Show
in the 1970s, NBC Nightly News
in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and, briefly, Meet the Press
in 2008.
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TOM BROKAW TICKETS
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Early life
thumb in 1958. Brokaw was a tour guide there.
Brokaw was born in
Webster, South Dakota, the son of Eugenia "Jean" (née Conley), who worked in sales and as a post office clerk, and Anthony Orville "Red" Brokaw.
[1] He was the eldest of their three sons and was named after his maternal great-grandfather, Thomas Conley. His father was a descendant of
Huguenot immigrants Bourgon and Cathernine (le Fevre) Broucard and his mother was
Irish American.
[2] His paternal great-grandfather, Richard P. Brokaw, founded the town of
Bristol, South Dakota, and the Brokaw House, a small hotel and the first structure in Bristol.
[3]
Brokaw's father was a construction foreman for the
Army Corps of Engineers. He worked at the
Black Hills Ordnance Depot (BHOD) and helped construct
Fort Randall Dam; his job often required the family to resettle during Brokaw's early childhood.
[4] The Brokaws lived for short periods in Bristol, Igloo (the small residential community of the BHOD), and
Pickstown, before settling in
Yankton, where Brokaw attended high school.
As a
high school student attending Yankton Senior High School,
Brokaw was governor of South Dakota
American Legion Boys State, and in that capacity he accompanied then South Dakota Governor
Joe Foss to New York City for a joint appearance on a TV
game show. It was to be the beginning of a long relationship with Foss, whom Brokaw would later feature in his book about World War II
veterans,
The Greatest Generation
.
Tom Brokaw dropped out of The
University of Iowa, where he says he majored in "beer and co-eds" before receiving his
B.A. degree in
Political Science from the
University of South Dakota in
Vermillion in 1964.
[5]
He is married to
Meredith Lynn Auld (a former
Miss South Dakota and author) from 1962. They have three daughters, Jennifer Jean, Andrea Brooks and Sara Auld.
Broadcasting career
1960s
His television career began at
KTIV in
Sioux City, Iowa, followed by a three-year stint at
KMTV in
Omaha, Nebraska.
[6]
In 1965, he became an editor of the late-evening news on
WSB-TV in
Atlanta, Georgia. The following year he joined
NBC News, reporting from
California and anchoring the 11 p.m. news for
KNBC-TV in
Los Angeles.
1970s
From 1973–1976 he was an NBC News
White House correspondent, covering the
Watergate scandal. During this time, he was asked by the higher-rated
CBS News to join its operation after CBS's management had decided its reporter,
Dan Rather, was too hostile to then-President
Richard Nixon. The proposed change of networks never occurred, though, after word of it was leaked to the press. During this time, Brokaw also handled anchoring duties on the Saturday editions of
Nightly News.
In 1976, Brokaw became NBC News'
Today Show
host. He was also the floor reporter for the two major parties' presidential nominating conventions that year.
1980s
thumb.
In 1982, Brokaw began co-anchoring
NBC Nightly News
, along with co-anchor
Roger Mudd. When Mudd went on to host
Meet the Press
and
American Almanac
, a weekly newsmagazine, Brokaw became the sole anchor of the
NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
on September 5, 1983.
In 1987, he wrote
The Arms, the Men, the Money
, investigating
Contra rebels. That same year he conducted the first one-on-one American TV interview with
Mikhail Gorbachev, and won an
Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award. He also moderated the debates among all declared presidential candidates of both the Republican and Democratic parties.
In 1989, he reported the collapse of the
Berlin Wall.
1990s
From 1992–93 he anchored
The Brokaw Report
series of
prime-time "critical issues" specials. He was also host, with
Katie Couric, of a prime-time
newsmagazine called
Now
. The show aired from 1993–94, and was folded into the multi-night
Dateline NBC
program.
In 1995, Brokaw reported from the site of the
Oklahoma City bombing. The following year he reported from the scene of the
TWA flight 800 tragedy.
In 1997, he interviewed
Charlie Trie and
Johnny Chung, key figures in the
campaign finance abuse scandal.
In 1999, he conducted the first North American TV interview with
Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, in Moscow. He also traveled to
Tirana,
Albania during
NATO airstrikes in
Yugoslavia.
2000s
thumb before an interview on 2 June 2000.
In 2000, he conducted the first American TV interview with
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow. He was also Master of Ceremonies at the opening of the
National D-Day Museum in
New Orleans, Louisiana.
Brokaw was Grand Marshall for the 112th
Tournament of Roses parade in 2001.
On
September 11, 2001, Brokaw joined
Katie Couric and
Matt Lauer around 9:30 a.m., following the live attack on the South Tower of the
World Trade Center, and continued to anchor all day, until after midnight, when
MSNBC took over coverage. During the early stages of the disaster, Brokaw famously responded to Lauer's speculations over loss of life after the second tower fell by saying, "This is war. This is a declaration and execution of an attack on the United States."
[7] He also asked "Are we at war?" and exclaimed "War! War!" in the style of a sports chant.
[8] Throughout the day, Brokaw was joined by
David Bloom,
Jim Miklaszewski from the Pentagon, author
Tom Clancy, Senator
John McCain, and NBC Aviation expert
Robert Hager at different points in the day, just to name a few.
Brokaw returned for the following two days and expanded the
NBC Nightly News
to midnight, as well. Along with his contemporaries,
Peter Jennings of
ABC and
Dan Rather of CBS, the three anchors provided thorough and blanket coverage of the attacks.
In late September 2001, a letter containing
anthrax was addressed to him as part of the
2001 anthrax attacks. Brokaw wasn't harmed, but two NBC News employees were infected.
In 2002, Brokaw announced his intention to go under retirement as anchor of the
NBC Nightly News
effective after the
2004 Presidential election. NBC then announced that
Brian Williams would be Brokaw's successor as the anchor of
NBC Nightly News
on December 2, 2004. NBC also announced that Brokaw will remain with
NBC News in a part-time capacity through 2014 serving as an analyst as well as anchoring and producing documentary programs.
By the end of his time as
Nightly News
anchor, Brokaw was regarded as the most popular news personality in the United States. His program was consistently rated the highest evening news show, topping Dan Rather and Peter Jennings in the evening news ratings. This may explain why Brokaw was the only one of the three evening news anchors to have a sit-down interview with President
George W. Bush.
thumb.
Along with the two other pillars of the so-called "Big Three" — Peter Jennings (ABC) and Dan Rather (CBS) — Brokaw helped usher in the era of the TV
news anchor as lavishly compensated, globe-trotting star in the 1980s. The magnitude of a news event could be measured by whether Brokaw and his counterparts on the other two networks showed up on the scene. Brokaw's retirement in December 2004, followed by Rather's ouster from the
CBS Evening News
in March 2005, and finally Jennings's death in August 2005, brought that era to a close.
He closed his final
Nightly News
broadcast in front of 15.7 million viewers on NBC by saying:
“
| That's Nightly News
for this Wednesday night. I'm Tom Brokaw. You'll see Brian Williams tomorrow night; I'll see you along the way.
| ”
|
By the time American viewers became familiar with Tom Brokaw and his
NBC Nightly News
the program was consistently ranked #1,
Peter Jennings and
World News Tonight
was ranked #2,
Dan Rather and the
CBS Evening News
was ranked #3. Earlier in his career, CBS under
Cronkite and Rather was #1 in the early and mid 1980s, Jennings was #1 in the late 1980s and mid 1990s, and Brokaw took over as America's most watched anchor in the late 1990s, holding the spot until his retirement in 2004.
2006
In 2006, Tom Brokaw became the second journalist to receive the prestigious
Sylvanus Thayer Award by the
United States Military Academy at West Point. The first one was legendary news anchor man
Walter Cronkite in 1997.
He is presently on the board of directors of the
Council on Foreign Relations, the
Committee to Protect Journalists, and the
International Rescue Committee.
Some political independents, Libertarians, Reform party members and Green Party members have publicly urged Tom Brokaw to run as their candidate for national office: U.S. Senate, or President.
Brokaw recently completed a documentary on global warming for the Discovery Channel entitled
Global Warming: What You Need to Know, with Tom Brokaw
.
[9]
On November 19, 2006, Brokaw delivered the keynote speech at the annual Dedication Day Ceremony at the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, honoring those who fought and died in the American Civil War.
[10]
2007
On January 2, 2007, Brokaw delivered one of the eulogies during the
state funeral of former President Gerald R. Ford.
On May 28, 2007, Brokaw appeared on the History Channel special,
Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed
, describing Darth Vader's attire.
Brokaw was the host for the rollout of the
Boeing 787 airplane on July 8, 2007.
Brokaw hosted and conducted interviews for the History Channel's
1968 with Tom Brokaw
, a 2-hour documentary that first aired on December 9, 2007 which examined one of the most tumultuous years in American history.
2008
Brokaw hosted and conducted interviews for the History Channel's 2-hour program entitled
King
that aired on April 4, 2008, the 40th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Brokaw is currently NBC News Special Correspondent, providing election analysis along with
Brian Williams,
Chris Matthews, and
Keith Olbermann.
[11]
On June 13, 2008, Brokaw broke into NBC's second round coverage of the U.S. open golf tournament at 3:39 p.m. EDT and publicly announced the death of his longtime friend and colleague, NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and
Meet the Press
moderator
Tim Russert. The NBC News special report announcing Russert's death was also broadcasted on
CNBC, and
MSNBC. Later that night, he hosted a one-hour special program on NBC memorializing Russert and hosted the following Sunday's episode of
Meet the Press
remembering Tim Russert.
Meet the Press
On June 22, 2008, guest moderator Brian Williams announced at the end of that day's show that Tom Brokaw would replace
Tim Russert, on an interim basis, as host of
Meet the Press
. Brokaw stated that he had no intention of filling the position permanently, stating that "the plan is for me to be in place until they can find somebody who can take it over on a permanent basis."
[12] Rumored candidates for the job included
Chuck Todd,
David Gregory,
Andrea Mitchell,
Chris Matthews, and
Gwen Ifill. In December, NBC chose David Gregory and Brokaw's final broadcast was interviewing President-elect Barack Obama.
Presidential debate
Brokaw hosted the second presidential debate between
Barack Obama and
John McCain October 7, 2008 at
Belmont University's Curb Event Center in
Nashville, Tennessee. The debate had a town-hall meeting format.
Career timeline
- 1965: Anchor of WSB-TV late-evening news [13]
- 1966–1972: NBC News West Coast correspondent and KNBC anchor
- 1973–1976: White House correspondent and Saturday anchor of NBC Nightly News
- 1976–1981: Today Show
host
- 1982–1983: NBC Nightly News
co-anchor
- 1983–2004: NBC Nightly News
anchor
- 2004–present: Special Correspondent for NBC News
- 2008: Meet the Press
moderator (interim)
Books
thumb
- 1998 The Greatest Generation
ISBN 0-375-50202-5 (hardback) ISBN 0-385-33462-1 (paperback) Depicts the Americans who came of age during the Great Depression and fought World War II.
- 1999 The Greatest Generation Speaks
ISBN 0-375-50394-3 (hardback) ISBN 0-385-33538-5 (paperback)
- 2001 An Album of Memories
ISBN 0-375-50581-4 (hardback) ISBN 0-375-76041-5 (paperback)
- 2002 A Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland
ISBN 0-375-50763-9 (hardback) ISBN 0-375-75935-2 (paperback)
- 2006 Galen Rowell: A Retrospective
ISBN 1-57805-115-0 (hardback) Foreword by Tom Brokaw
- 2007 Boom!: Voices of the Sixties Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today
ISBN 1-40006-457-0 (hardback)
Awards
Public and industry awards
- Peabody Award for a report called To Be An American
- Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards for excellence in broadcast journalism for Dateline NBC
documentary special, Why Can't We Live Together
on hidden realities of racial separation in suburban America
- Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence in broadcast journalism for his interview with Mikhail Gorbachev
- seven Emmy Awards including one for China in Crisis
special report
- 1990 National Headliner Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews for advancing the understanding of religion, race and ethnicity.
- 1993 Emmy award for reporting on floods in the Midwest
- 1995 Dennis Kauff Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism from Boston University
- 1995 Lowell Thomas Award from Marist College.
- 1997 University of Missouri–Columbia School of Journalism Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism
- 1997 inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame
- 1998 Fred Friendly First Amendment Award, a tribute to those "individuals whose broadcast career reflects a consistent devotion to freedom of speech and the principles embodied in the First Amendment."
- 1998 American Legion award for distinguished public service in the field of communication.
- 1998 Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America's President's Award recognizing "devotion to helping young people through scholarships."
- 1999 Congressional Medal of Honor Society's "Tex" McCrary Excellence in Journalism Award
- 1999 Emmy award for international coverage of the Kosovo conflict
- 2005 Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 2005 Four Freedoms Medal: Freedom of Speech And Expression
- 2006 Washington State University Edward R. Murrow School of Communications Lifetime Achievement in Broadcasting Award
- 2006 Sylvanus Thayer Award: United States Military Academy at West Point
- 2006 Walter Cronkite Award for Journalism Excellence at Arizona State University
- 2007 Horatio Alger Award for overcoming adversity to achieve success through the American free enterprise system from the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Inc.
Honorary degrees
- Boston College
- Brandeis University
- California Institute of Technology
- The College of William & Mary
- Dartmouth College
- Duke University
- Emory University
- Fairfield University
- Fordham University [14]
- Florida State University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Northwestern University
- Providence College
- Saint Anselm College
- Skidmore College
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Oklahoma
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of South Dakota
- Washington University in St. Louis
References
- Tom Brokaw Biography (1940-)
- McGuire, John M. (November 6, 2002). "From Yankton to Yankee Town". ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', p. E1.
- Brokaw, Tom. (2003). ''A Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland in the Forties and Fifties'', p. 9. New York: Random House.
- Jordan, Larry (February 1995). "Tom Brokaw: A Heavyweight in a World of Lightweights". ''Midwest Today''.
- Tom Brokaw - Biography
- Brokaw, Tom
- Tuned In: This was reality TV at its most horrific
- Brokaw, Tom (September 11, 2001) "NBC Live News Feed". NBC.
- Cut CO2 - You Can Help Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions
- The Lincoln Forum - Symposium Information
- Inside Cable News
- NBC: Brokaw to host 'Meet the Press' through Nov. - MSN TV News
- Tom Brokaw - Nightly News with Brian Williams - MSNBC.com
- One Hundred Sixty Fourth Annual Commencement