Meredith lynn auld biography of barack

(1940-)

Who Is Tom Brokaw?

Starting as a radio reporter in college, Tom Brokaw worked his way up to become NBC's Washington correspondent, covering Watergate in 1973. Named anchor of NBC Nightly News in 1982, Brokaw conducted Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's first American interview in 1987, and reported on such historic events as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He remained at the anchor desk until his retirement in 2004. Brokaw's 1998 book, The Greatest Generation, was a best-seller.

Early Life and Career

Television journalist Thomas John Brokaw was born on February 6, 1940, in Webster, South Dakota. The eldest son of a construction worker and a post office clerk, Brokaw graduated from the University of South Dakota with a degree in political science in 1962. He started as a radio reporter in college, and after graduating he found work as the editor of a morning news program in Omaha, Nebraska. He also served as a news anchor and editor in Atlanta,

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Tom Brokaw: Hall of Fame Tribute

When television journalist Tom Brokaw first sat down in the co-anchor chair of NBC Nightly News in 1981, the competition stood up and took notice. Walter Cronkite, who shares a distinction with Brokaw of being among the most trusted newsmen in American television history, recalls the response at CBS Evening News.

“Our reaction was, well, we’ve got a serious contender in our attempt to remain at the top of the broadcasts of the three major networks,” says Cronkite, who had ushered CBS Evening News into first place during his tenure (he retired the same year that Brokaw stepped in at NBC). In particular, Cronkite admired Brokaw’s skill at effectively translating for viewers the most salient and difficult parts of the news.

“It was quite clear when he was doing the evening news, he was speaking of a situation that he had a pretty deep knowledge of. You felt like you were listening to an expert on these matters.

“We immediately recognized, or

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Tom Brokaw

American broadcast journalist and author (born 1940)

Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940)^[2] is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of The Today Show from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News for 22 years (1982–2004). In the previous decade he served as a weekend anchor for the program from 1973 to 1976. He is the only person to have hosted all three major NBC News programs: The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and, briefly, Meet the Press. He formerly held a special correspondent post for NBC News.

Along with his competitors Peter Jennings at ABC News, and Dan Rather at CBS News, Brokaw was one of the "Big Three" U.S. news anchors during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.^[3] All three hosted their networks' flagship nightly news programs for more than 20 years.^[a]

Brokaw has also written several books on Amer