He has reported live from the White House lawn, rooftops in Beirut, the Great Wall of China and the streets of Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.

He conducted the first exclusive interviews with former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and the Dalai Lama of Tibet, among others.

But Brokaw says it's all in a day's work.

"You very quickly learn they're made up of flesh and blood, and they have their own flaws as well," Brokaw says. "I remember seeing Dwight Eisenhower--this great icon of American life--and he looked like my grandfather."

In addition to Brokaw's nightly broadcasts, he has covered every presidential election for more than 30 years, and he anchors "The Brokaw Report," a series examining pressing issues confronting America.

Marvin Kalb, director of the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, calls Brokaw "one of the most respected news anchormen in the business."

More Than Meets the Eye

When the tape is rolling and the lights are beating down upon him, Brokaw exemplifies the consummate professional journalist, offering an objective, understandable analysis of complex, heated issues.

But once the cameras stop rolling, Brokaw's congeniality and sense of humor mix with his sophistication and intellect.

Brokaw is a frequent guest on "The Late Show with David Letterman," where he often fills in after last-minute cancellations.

During screenings, Brokaw often seems bemused, poking fun at the events which he covered with stonyfaced seriousness earlier in the day. But viewers should not be surprised by his turnaround, he says.

"There's more parts to me than what I show on television for an hour each night," Brokaw says. "I'm not Johnny One-Note."

Headin' Home

Brokaw sheds his Midwestern loyalties during basketball season to root for the New York Knicks. He was distraught by their elimination by the Chicago Bulls in this year's playoffs, he says.

But Brokaw still sneaks back to Yankton every few years.