HIGH POINT, N.C., May 20, 2015 – The UNC-TV network will broadcast a special program, titled “High Point University Presents a Conversation with Tom Brokaw and Nido Qubein.” The program will air at 10 p.m. on May 28.
Brokaw sat down with Qubein for an extended question and answer session that was filmed on the HPU campus for the UNC-TV broadcast. Qubein asked Brokaw about his career as a respected journalist who covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and penned the term “The Greatest Generation,” which refers to the generation who grew up during the Great Depression then went on to fight in World War II. It is also the title of his bestselling book that tells the stories of these individuals.
He also discussed some of the dark moments he faced when battling cancer.
“When I would start to feel sorry for myself, I would think about the kids that I saw in Afghanistan and Iraq, and medevac flights that were coming home [with soldiers] without legs or in body bags and what their families were going through,” Brokaw said. “Or I would see somebody in the street who was being pushed by a wheelchair and I thought, ‘Look, I am going to beat this at some point.’”
Brokaw has spent his entire journalism career with NBC News beginning in 1966 in the Los Angeles bureau, where he covered Ronald Reagan’s first run for public office, the rise of the 1960s counter culture, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and the 1968 presidential campaign.
From Los Angeles, Brokaw went to Washington as the White House correspondent during Watergate and as the principal backup for John Chancellor as anchor of “NBC Nightly News.” His next stop was “TODAY” in New York, followed by his appointment as anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.”
He took over “Meet the Press” for the 2008 campaign when his close friend and colleague Tim Russert died.
In addition to his daily news gathering responsibilities, Brokaw reported on more than 30 documentaries covering subjects ranging from AIDS, Los Angeles gangs, race, education, medicine, immigration and global warming.
He has an impressive list of firsts, including the first interview with Mikhail Gorbachev; the first network report on human rights abuses in Tibet, accompanied by an exclusive interview with the Dali Lama; and the only American network anchor to report from Berlin the night the Berlin Wall came down.
UNC-TV has aired presentations with Gen. Colin Powell, former secretary of state, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and national security advisor; Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder; John Maxwell, bestselling author and internationally renowned leadership expert; Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People; Seth Godin, bestselling author, marketing pioneer and founder of Yoyodyne and Squidoo; Ken Dychtwald, founding president and CEO of Age Wave; as well as presented a number of specials on HPU’s Cultural Enrichment Series. Past specials have included HPU’s entrepreneurship roundtable discussion with business leaders including David King, CEO of LabCorp, and Sharon Decker, former N.C. Secretary of Commerce.