Individual Award: Tom Brokaw

Notwithstanding his 22 years as anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, tours of duty on Today and Meet the Press and his dozens of prime-time news specials, including a pair of Peabody Awards winners (A Question of Fairness, 2003, and Vietnam Ten Years Later, 1985), Tom Brokaw is arguably just as famous for a book he wrote. The Greatest Generation (1998), in which he celebrated the courage and resourcefulness of the men and women who served in World War II and overcame the Great Depression, was a huge bestseller and spawned a household phrase. Brokaw’s career in broadcasting news has a classic trajectory, from a local station in Sioux City, Iowa, up through the ranks (Omaha, Atlanta, Los Angeles) to correspondent and anchor at the network of the legendary Chet Huntley-David Brinkley team. Strong personal reporting, with a special focus on politics and American history, was a hallmark of his work while he was the face of NBC News, and he has not stopped adding to that legacy since he walked away from the anchor desk in 2004. A Personal Peabody Award goes to Tom Brokaw, author, journalist and anchor emeritus of NBC Nightly News, for his ongoing history of thoughtful reporting, enterprise and good humor.