John Chancellor to Retire From NBC News
John Chancellor, a mainstay at NBC News for more than 40 years, plans to retire sometime next year, the network confirmed Thursday. He turns 65 next month.
The last of the commentators on any of the three major networks’ nightly newscasts, Chancellor will continue appearing on “NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw” a few months beyond the presidential inauguration in January, a network spokeswoman said. He will also play a key role in NBC’s coverage of the two political conventions this summer and the subsequent election.
“For years, John Chancellor has brought wisdom and class to NBC news, and the good news is that his retirement is still more than a year away,” said Michael Gartner, president of NBC News.
Although he toiled mostly in the shadow of CBS’ Walter Cronkite, Chancellor was a TV news heavyweight as he anchored NBC’s nightly newscast between 1970 and 1982. He moved into the commentator’s chair in 1982 to make room for Brokaw.
Chancellor’s assistant said Thursday that he was on deadline writing his latest commentary--he currently offers his opinions three nights each week--and was unavailable for comment.
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