Tom Brokaw has a distinguished and extensive 37-year career in journalism at NBC News. In many ways -- with his constant and steadying presence -- he has set the pace for broadcast journalism. In 2003, as the international controversy escalated over the then-possible war with Iraq, Brokaw traveled overseas to the diplomatic and military hotspots throughout the Middle East and the Gulf. On March 19, 2003, Brokaw was the first American news anchor to report that the war with Iraq had begun, and in April, he landed the first television interview with President Bush since the war with Iraq. During the summer of 2003, Brokaw was the only network evening news anchor to return to Baghdad to report for five nights for "NBC Nightly News" and "Dateline NBC" on post-war Iraq and the reconstruction efforts.
Brokaw has an impressive series of additional "firsts," including the first exclusive U.S. one-on-one interview with Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, the first American network television anchor to interview Vladimir Putin, and he was the first and only anchor to report from the scene the night the Berlin Wall fell. In 1995, he was the first network evening news anchor to report from the site of the Oklahoma City bombing, and one year later, was the first to broadcast from the scene of the TWA Flight 800 tragedy.
Brokaw's insight, ability and integrity have earned him numerous awards for journalistic achievements, including the DuPont Award, a Peabody Award, several Emmy, Overseas Press Club, Edward R. Murrow and National Headliner awards.
The NBC News anchor also has a distinguished record as a political reporter. He has covered every presidential election since 1968 and was NBC's White House correspondent during the national trauma of Watergate. From 1984 through this presidential election cycle, Brokaw will have anchored all of NBC's political coverage, including primaries, national conventions and election nights and the 2004 South Carolina Democratic Candidates Debate will mark Brokaw's eight time that he has moderated a primary and/or general election debate.
In 1998, Brokaw became a best selling author with the publication of "The Greatest Generation." Inspired by the mountain of mail he received from first his book, Brokaw wrote "The Greatest Generation Speaks" in 1999, and in 2001, this third book, "An Album of Memories" was published. In November 2002, his fourth best selling book "A Long Way from Home," a reflective look about growing up in the American Heartland, was released.
Brokaw began his journalism career in 1962 at KMTV, Omaha and anchored the late evening news on WSB-TV Atlanta before joining KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. He was hired by NBC News in 1966 and from 1976-1981 he anchored NBC News' "Today" program.
2003
