After skimming several newspapers and checking his e-mail, Brokaw runs a 4-mile loop around Central Park with his yellow Labrador, Sage the Wonderdog.

The news anchor then travels to the NBC building in Rockefeller Center, where he chairs a 9:30 a.m. meeting, assigns stories and approves an outline for that night's broadcast.

The remainder of the day is spent researching, dealing with breaking news events and preparing his news script.

Brokaw splits up the day with a second workout, at 4 p.m. in the NBC gymnasium, where he lifts weights or rides a stationary bicycle.

"[Exercise] makes the day worthwhile," he says. "I couldn't keep this schedule if I weren't fit."

When he vacations, Brokaw often adjourns to his ranch in Montana, where he returns to his boyhood pastimes of hunting and fishing.

More Than a Pretty Face

With his baritone voice, trim physique and stylish wardrobe, Brokaw is a perfect fit for the small screen--and an easy target for print journalists.

Adam Clymer '58, the chief congressional correspondent for The New York Times, recalls speaking with Brokaw after Brokaw wrote "a good story" in 1973 about the Nixon White House.

"I said, 'Yeah, Tom, if you ever suffer a facial disfigurement, I could get you a job [in print journalism],'" says Clymer, a former Crimson president.

Competition for television viewers is keen, and anchors must balance their reporter's instinct with the need to entertain viewers.

Some have criticized television for sensationalism or distorting facts in the quest for higher ratings. But Brokaw bristles at such suggestions.

"People will not watch me or Peter Jennings or Dan Rather for our charm or our personality or our wink or our sweater unless they believe that they're being well informed," he said in a previous interview with People magazine.

A Life in Journalism

Brokaw has won numerous accolades for his reporting, including the 1989 Peabody Award and the 1992 Emmy Award.