Brokaw announces retirement
Longtime NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, once television news’ most popular broadcaster as he told viewers about the biggest events of that late 20th Century, said Friday he’s retiring from television.
Brokaw, 80, said he’ll continue writing books and articles. He’s the author of “The Greatest Generation,” about those who fought World War II.
In a final essay that appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Dec. 30, Brokaw hinted at his announcement by reflecting on a career that took him from breaking into a local newscast in Nebraska and announcing the death of President John F. Kennedy, to coronavirus.
“For me, it’s been an amazing journey — 57 years as a reporter,” Brokaw said.
Fifty-five of those years were at NBC News, starting as a reporter in Los Angeles in the 1960s, covering the White House during the Nixon administration, hosting the “Today” show in the late 1970s and more than 20 years as “Nightly News” anchor.
For two decades, the triumvirate of Brokaw, ABC’s Peter Jennings and CBS’s Dan Rather were the nation’s most visible broadcasters, anchoring major stories like the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the disputed 2000 election and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
After giving way at “Nightly News” to Brian Williams in 2004, Brokaw concentrated primarily on historical programming and commentary during big moments, like elections.
For health reasons, his appearances have been more sporadic lately. In 2013, Brokaw was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that affects the bone marrow. He did not return a message seeking comment on Friday.
In his final essay last month, Brokaw said the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 400,000 Americans in the past year, is the country’s greatest test since the Civil War.
“We still have miles to go and no assurances of just how it will all turn out,” he said.
‘SNL’ to return Jan. 30
“Saturday Night Live” is getting back to work soon, with three upcoming hosts
and three musical guests announced Friday by NBC.
The sketch show returns Jan. 30 with “A Quiet Place Part II” actor John Krasinski at the helm and musician Machine Gun Kelly making his first appearance on the show. Krasinski had been slated to host last March, but the series shut down production as the coronavirus crisis spiked.
“Schitt’s Creek” co-creator and co-star Dan Levy and Grammy nominee Phoebe Bridgers will appear on the Feb. 6 episode. Regina King — whose directorial debut “One Night in Miami” is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video — will follow as host on the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, accompanied by singer-songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff.