NBC News will celebrate the 50th anniversary of veteran anchor and special correspondent Tom Brokaw with “Tom Brokaw at NBC News: The First 50 Years,” a prime time special on Sunday, January 29 at 9 p.m.
The two-hour special features his most memorable highlights and famous interviews from the start of his career reporting on Ronald Reagan’s first run for office to his most recent coverage of the 2016 presidential election, as well as never-before-seen moments from Brokaw’s tenure at NBC News and new conversations with special guests.
Brokaw and his guests will share insights and discuss topics from the last half century including race relations, politics, the women’s movement, technology, and global affairs. Brokaw’s in-depth conversations with A-list leaders of business, politics and culture include guests Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Tom Hanks, Jon Stewart, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Colin Powell, David Letterman, Sheryl Sandberg, Lester Holt, Maria Shriver, Lorne Michaels, Nikki Haley, Jim Webb, Wes Moore and Thomas Friedman.
“For 50 years I’ve been covering stories around the world for NBC News and this is a unique opportunity to share those experiences with friends and our audience,” said Brokaw. “It’s a little overwhelming to realize how far I’ve gone and what I’ve seen.”
Brokaw, celebrated as the chronicler of “The Greatest Generation,” began his career with NBC News in 1966 in the Los Angeles bureau, where he covered Ronald Reagan’s first run for public office, the rise of the Sixties counter culture, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and the 1968 presidential campaign.
In 1973, he moved to Washington as the NBC News White House correspondent, a position he held until 1976 when he started co-hosting TODAY. In 1983, he became the anchor and managing editor of "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.”
Brokaw was the first to conduct an interview with Mikhail Gorbachev, the first to provide a network report on human rights abuses in Tibet accompanied by an exclusive interview with the Dalai Lama and the only American network anchor to report from Berlin the night the Berlin wall came down.
Brokaw's first book, "The Greatest Generation," is one of the most popular nonfiction books of the 20th century. In November 2014, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, the nation's highest civilian honor. He contributed to NBC News’ coverage of the 2016 Election and served as a special correspondent for the presidential inauguration last Friday.
