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David Brinkley dies
Esteemed TV journalist, 82, suffered a fall
Veteran ABC journalist David Brinkley, who covered every U.S. president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, passed away last night at his Houston home.
He was 82.
Brinkley’s long and distinguished career matured right along with the medium that he mastered through years of no-nonsense hard work.
Brinkley was known to one generation of Americans as half of the NBC news team of Huntley and Brinkley.
He was known to the next as the host of ABC’s successful Sunday news show “This Week with David Brinkley.”
Though Brinkley stepped down from that position in 1996, he continued to film commentaries for the program long after.
He died yesterday after complications from a fall, according to ABC News.
Brinkley was an old-school journalist in the best of ways – he didn’t hold back his opinions and he had a certain curmudgeon-iness of attitude that made him interesting to watch, if not exactly beautiful to look at.
"If I was to start today I probably couldn't get a job," he said once, "because I don't look like what people think an anchorperson should look like."
He was honest even when it did not behoove him to be so. The same year he retired, Brinkley made headlines for a rare miscue in his long broadcasting career by calling President Clinton “a bore” during ABC’s election night coverage.
He later apologized during an interview with Clinton.
Brinkley began his journalism career as a high schooler writing for his hometown paper, the Wilmington (N.C.) Morning Star.
He served during World War II and returned to journalism upon his Army discharge, first working for United Press International and moving to NBC in 1943.
In 1956 he teamed with another up-and-coming NBC newsman, Chet Huntley, to cover the political conventions.
Their rapport impressed NBC management. The network moved them into the nightly newscast spot, and the show sprang to the top of the ratings.
The duo may have reached their peak in 1964, when they competed against CBS’s Walter Cronkite during the Democratic National Convention. NBC received a dominating 84 percent of viewership.
By 1965, Huntley and Brinkley had become more recognized by adult Americans than John Wayne or the Beatles, according to one consumer study.
Their catchphrase to end the newscast, which plumped from 15 minutes to 30 during their tenure, is still remembered by many today, even though the two of them secretly disliked the folksy “Goodnight, Chet,” “Goodnight, David.”
The collaboration ended in 1970, when Huntley retired. He died four years later. After Huntley left, Brinkley was paired with John Chancellor before becoming a commentator. By the mid-‘70s, though, Cronkite and CBS had risen to the dominant news network.
So Brinkley left NBC in 1981 for ABC’s “This Week with David Brinkley.” There he stayed for 15 years, giving him a combined 53 years’ service to both networks.
“This Week,” so unfailing under Brinkley’s sure leadership, has faltered in the time since he left. Cokie Roberts and Sam Donaldson recently vacated the show for up-and-comer George Stephanopoulos, whose ratings have been in steep decline since he began hosting last year.
Brinkley was recognized with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, the highest honor available to a civilian.
He also won 10 Emmys and three George Foster Peabody Awards in his career.
June 12, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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