Don't tell me another one is run off by the powerful FOX new network!
Brokaw Goes to His Summer Place
by Mark Armstrong
Jul 6, 2001, 12:15 PM PT
Tom Brokaw--baritone-voiced man of the people, flag-waving bearer of truth and foot soldier for the "Greatest Generation"--is taking time off to embark on the "Greatest Vacation."
Fueling speculation that he may leave his NBC anchor desk for good, Brokaw is taking a 10-week break from NBC Nightly News this summer. The newsman had his last broadcast June 22, telling viewers, "You have a wonderful summer."
MSNBC understudy Brian Williams is taking over until Labor Day, and Brokaw is expected to be back on desk duty September 4.
"He always takes four weeks in the summer, usually in August," says NBC spokeswoman Alex Constantinople, who adds that NBC President Andrew Lack approved the extended time off. "He has been here 30 years," she added. "It was just something he wanted to do, so we obliged."
Brokaw taking a vacation is hardly news: After all, ABC's Peter Jennings is taking his own five-week summer breather. But with Brokaw's contract expiring next year, and the 61-year-old journalist still not committed to sticking around beyond that, the extended break has raised more questions about his future with the network.
Brokaw, who has been the Nightly News top dog since September 1983, also has increasingly focused on his side projects, most notably his bestselling book The Greatest Generation, its two sequels (including the recently published An Album of Memories: Personal Histories From the Greatest Generation) and related TV specials.
All of which leads next week's TV Guide to ask, "Is Brokaw Really Planning to Exit?"
Columnist J. Max Robins speculates on several potential scenarios: Brokaw might decide to stay with NBC only part-time, providing on-air commentaries and occasional specials; The summer vacation might make Brokaw tanned, rested and ready to jump back into his Nightly News duties; either that, or his 10-week break in the Midwest might make him ditch New York for good--living at his Montana ranch full-time, pursuing his writing and (who knows?) even running for U.S. Senate.
"Nobody is going to push Tom out; it would be purely his decision to go," an unnamed NBC exec tells TV Guide. "But he might be the rare one of these guys who is wise enough to go out when things are as good as they're ever going to get."
For its part, NBC isn't commenting on the speculation. Nor is Brokaw, who's been spending time at his Montana ranch and stopping through his native South Dakota. Last week, Brokaw and his wife, Meredith, donated $250,000 to help build a hiking and biking trail in his hometown of Yankton, South Dakota (population: 13,000).
And more than likely, he'll take advantage of that fresh air to contemplate his future.
"[Brokaw] told me years ago he doesn't want to be doing the same thing when he's 65," an NBC exec tells TV Guide. "I don't think he comes back from summer vacation and suddenly says, 'Adios,' but I also doubt he's [still the anchor] for the next presidential election." |
