[Deathwatch] David Brinkley, newscaster, 82

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

TV Journalist David Brinkley Dead at 82
By Mark Egan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - David Brinkley, the lanky newscaster whose
distinct speaking style and wry wit made him an American household name
for half a century, has died at his home in Houston at the age of 82.

"Mr. Brinkley passed away at his home in Houston last night at the age
of 82," Jeffrey Schneider, vice president of ABC News, his former
employer, told Reuters on Thursday.

For almost half a century, Brinkley was a dominant face in American
broadcasting, first as a co-anchor of NBC's evening television news
program and later as host of the Sunday current affairs program "This
Week with David Brinkley."

Brinkley, known for his wit and dry delivery, helped shape the American
television news industry.

Starting in 1956 as a co-anchor of political conventions, his career
spanned 11 presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, and
included broadcasts of local and notable events in U.S. history from
before World War II.

Along with co-anchor Chet Huntley, the "The Huntley-Brinkley Report"
ushered in the two-person TV nightly news anchor team with Brinkley in
Washington and his partner in New York. The program pioneered such
television news techniques as having different journalists in different
cities talking to each other on television.

Their signature "Goodnight, Chet ... Goodnight, David," became part of
America's consciousness. The program lasted until 1970, when Huntley
retired. He died four years later.

Brinkley remained with NBC, winning a reputation as the grumpy older
newsman. In 1980, he hosted a new weekly NBC News magazine show but the
program collapsed in ratings against some popular prime-time
competitive shows such as "Dallas."

In September 1981, Brinkley announced he was leaving NBC, his longtime
employer, for ABC, telling The Washington Post at the time: "I shed a
few tears. I'm not a crybaby, but I did cry a little. It's like leaving
a family."

When asked what he thought his legacy to TV news would be, Brinkley
told Broadcasting Magazine, "Every news program on the air looks
essentially as we started it (with The Huntley-Brinkley Report)."

"We more or less set the form for broadcasting news on television which
is still used. No one has been able to think of a better way to do it."