Tom Brokaw Hands Anchor’s Chair to Next Generation

Tom Brokaw signed off as the anchor of “NBC Nightly News” on Wednesday night after 21 years, ending his show by thanking his viewers for “all that I have learned from you; that’s been my richest reward.”

Brokaw, who has been the subject of extensive goodbye tributes in recent days, addressed viewers during the last four minutes of an otherwise straightforward broadcast, which included news of fighting in Iraq and President Bush’s trip to Canada.

“Well, the time is here,” Brokaw said. “We’ve been through a lot together, through dark days and nights and seasons of hope and joy. Whatever the story, I had only one objective: to get it right.”

In what seemed to be a reference to the political and moral partisanship that has divided the country in recent years, Brokaw said he had learned that “It’s not the questions that get us in trouble, it’s the answers. And just as important, no one person has all the answers.”

Referring to the World War II veterans he has chronicled as the “Greatest Generation,” he said they “left a large and vital legacy of common effort to find common ground here and abroad on which to solve our most vexing problems. They did not give up their personal beliefs and greatest passions. But they never stopped learning from each other. And, most of all, they did not give up on the idea that we’re all in this together. We still are.”

Earlier on NBC’s “Today” show, Brokaw, 64, choked up when his colleagues offered a champagne toast, but on Wednesday night he appeared dry-eyed as NBC moved on to a brief montage and a graphic that read “Thanks Tom.”

Brokaw’s exit will be followed by that of CBS’ Dan Rather in March, leaving ABC’s Peter Jennings alone among the big three anchors who have been the most prominent faces of network news for two decades.

On Wednesday, Jennings offered his own on-air tribute to Brokaw, saying he “has demonstrated time and again that he does not favor power and -- maybe it’s his roots in South Dakota, out there on the Lewis and Clark Trail -- he has a common touch and a good ear.”

Although broadcast journalism has changed considerably while all three men have been in the anchor chair, Jennings said “Brokaw -- the journalist, and the historian too -- sure earned his place.”

Brian Williams, 45, takes over the “NBC Nightly News” anchor chair tonight. Thanking him for a report on recovering Iraq veterans in Wednesday’s broadcast, Brokaw quipped, “Don’t go far because we have plans for you.”