Brokaw, 80, is best known for being the host of “NBC Nightly News” from 1982 to 2004. He has been the network’s senior correspondent for the past few years, enjoying a form of semi-retirement while contributing to rehearsals for TV programs. NBC and MSNBC.
In his most recent essay, published in late December, he called the coronavirus pandemic “the greatest test in America since the Civil War.”
Brokaw was absent from coverage of the election and possession of NBC, a fact that was partially attributed to his age and health.
NBC announced his retirement in a press release on Friday that attributed him with “more than half a century of award-winning reporting.”
The network said “Brokaw will continue to work in print journalism, writing books and articles, and spending time with his wife, Meredith, three daughters and grandchildren.”
Brokaw is a television news icon who, in the words of NBC producer Andy Franklin, “presided – and led us – more stories than anyone can tell.”
On the occasion of a 2017 special on Brokaw’s career, Franklin and other employees described Brokaw’s leadership qualities and journalistic backbone.
Robert Windrem spoke of Brokaw’s calm and moderate coverage the day Richard Nixon resigned as president.
“I was deeply impressed not only by his professionalism, but by something else: his patriotism,” said Windrem. “He understood his role in the nation, his responsibility as an American.”
Brokaw joined NBC in 1966, as a reporter at the Los Angeles branch, “covering Ronald Reagan’s first candidacy for president,” according to the network’s biography for him. “He became NBC News correspondent for the White House, co-host of ‘Today’ and eventually became the anchor and editor-in-chief of ‘NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw’.”
At first, he shared “Nightly News” with Roger Mudd; a year later, he became the solo anchor, competing with Peter Jennings on ABC and Dan Rather on CBS. NBC Nightly News regularly ranked first in the rankings, with Brokaw in charge.
Later in his career, Brokaw stepped in to moderate “Meet the Press” when Tim Russert died in 2008. NBC said that Brokaw is the only journalist in the network’s history to present “Today”, “Nightly News” and “Meet the Press “.
Several women on NBC, including hosts like Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell, signed an open letter supporting Brokaw and calling him “a man of tremendous decency and integrity”.
In 2018, Brokaw’s live segments on NBC and MSNBC were already retreating. In the past few months, he recorded his rehearsals instead of appearing live.
His late 2020 comment on “Morning Joe” anticipated Joe Biden’s presidency and criticized then President Trump for “complaining while Covid patients struggle to survive”.
“In no time, Donald Trump’s main audience will be his caddies,” he joked.
Then he turned to himself: “For me, it was an incredible journey. 57 years, as a reporter. As a young reporter in Omaha, I invaded local programming with a bulletin. President Kennedy was assassinated. And for the next 57 years, I covered the seismic events that disturbed our world, but none has been as catastrophic as this pandemic. This is America’s biggest test since the Civil War. We still have miles ahead of us and no guarantee of how it will end. “
In a statement provided by NBC on Friday afternoon, Brokaw showed his hat to his colleagues: “During one of the most complex and consequent eras in American history, a new generation of journalists, producers and technicians from NBC News is supplying States United, timely and insightful information and extremely important information, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I couldn’t be more proud of them. “