SHORT TAKES : Anchor Job Grueling--Brokaw

Tom Brokaw says being an anchorman is a grueling job.

“It seems to most people to be a very glamorous job, and many days it is,” the NBC newsman said in the Oct. 29 issue of People.

“(But) it’s very hard to even think about taking a day off in the course of a month because it’s very competitive and the expectations are so high for all three of us,” he said, referring to Dan Rather of CBS and Peter Jennings at ABC.

Brokaw said being able to get away once in a while could solve the problem.

“Now we’re like gerbils. We’re in a cage running around and around,” he said. “After a while, no matter how much they pay you, you get to think you’d like to have a whole different life.”