Tom Brokaw, who announced his retirement from NBC News on Friday, certainly has a lot of friends.
Andrea Mitchell, Lester Holt, Dan Rather, Maria Shriver and many others wished him well. They remembered working with Brokaw in his 55 years on the network, while he covered the 1968 presidential campaign, including the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy; President Ronald Reagan’s first political campaign; and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
As NBC noted, Brokaw was the only anchor to lead all three of its major news programs: Nightly News, Today and Meet the press. He sat in the anchor chair for prime time broadcasting on 30 Rock from 1982 to 2004, and he has continued to contribute to NBC coverage in the years since he left office. In 2008, he served as moderator of the talk show Meet the press for several months after Tim Russert’s death. He continued to work as a collaborator and commentator.
Mitchell, who works alongside Brokaw at NBC, said he was just as important to the network as his peacock mascot.
.@NBCNews without #TomBrokaw it is like the net without the peacock. He told America’s story through triumph and tragedy, from civil rights to Watergate and Normandy, by space shuttles to Iraq, Bush / Gore and 9/11. An incomparable reporter and writer with more chapters to come
– Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) January 22, 2021
The current host of the evening news that Brokaw once led, Holt, congratulated his colleague on having more free time, which the 80-year-old man plans to spend with his family.
Congratulations to my colleague @tombrokaw on a remarkable career in @nbcnews. From the turbulent 1960s to the fall of the Berlin Wall, on 9/11 and beyond, the nation has witnessed the unfolding of history through its reporting. Thank you for your advice and friendship and enjoy retirement.
– Lester Holt (@LesterHoltNBC) January 22, 2021
It was “a sad day” for Steve Kornacki, the emerging star of NBC’s 2020 election coverage, who shared an old video of the veteran journalist in action.
A sad day when Tom Brokaw announces his retirement from NBC after 55 years.
Here, from 9/5/83, is his first broadcast as the sole anchor of NBC Nightly News, the beginning of a 21-year season that would make him emerge as America’s most popular and trusted news anchor: pic.twitter.com/bSSgrLXL2K
– Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) January 22, 2021
Instead, the CBS competition from Brokaw of its day in NBC Nightly News, called him “always much more friend”.
Tom was always a lot more friend than competitor. A consummate professional, always stable under pressure. Happy retirement, Tom. I know you’re going to keep yourself busy. I hope to see you along the trail soon. https://t.co/o0GpNlc7NV
– Dan Rather (@DanRather) January 22, 2021
And there were many other kind words.
Tom Brokaw is retiring after 55 years on NBC News.
A true broadcasting titan and chronicler of history – who was kind enough to pass on a bit of wisdom to a crop of us, new NBC correspondents, a few years ago.
Wishing you the absolute best, Tom. Https://t.co/Rt30W4q2CU pic.twitter.com/Mts4OjPSxg
– Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) January 22, 2021
So bittersweet to know that the great Tom Brokaw is retiring @NBCNews after more than half a century. I am still amazed to have had the chance to learn from him and I am extremely grateful for the interest he had in my career and the advice he gave so freely pic.twitter.com/ls66hPJLw7
– Kasie Hunt (@kasie) January 22, 2021
Other Brokaw honors over the years include NBC dedicating its West Coast facility, the Brokaw News Center, to him in 2014, and President Obama giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom that same year.
Brokaw himself released a statement earlier in the day: “During one of the most complex and consequential eras in American history, a new generation of journalists, producers and technicians from NBC News is providing America with timely, insightful and critically important information, 24 / 7. I couldn’t be more proud of them. “
While he is leaving the TV behind, the author of The Greatest Generation and other books, it is expected to continue its work through writing.
Read more on Yahoo Entertainment: