Top quotes by Tom Brokaw

It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference. Votes: 27

In Los Angeles, I had the good fortune of anchoring the news right before Johnny Carson came on, so to see him, the Hollywood stars watched me first. Votes: 21

Peter is an old friend. I'm heartbroken, but he's also a tough guy. I'm counting on him getting through this very difficult passage. Votes: 20

You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world. Votes: 20

The favourite bumper sticker in Washington D.C. right now is one that says 'First Iraq, then France' Votes: 18

What I think is highly inappropriate is what's going on across the Internet, a kind of political jihad against Dan Rather and CBS News that's quite outrageous. Votes: 17

Don't overstate Fox News. It's still much smaller than the least of the network niches. Votes: 17

Bob Hope was an entertainment colossus, shrewd and influential well beyond show business. Richard Zoglin's biography captures it all--the public and private Hope. Votes: 12

Judy Miller is the most innocent person in this case. I really thought that was outrageous that she was jailed and we needed as journalists to draw a line in the sand in a strong but thoughtful way. Votes: 12

While attendance at traditional churches has been declining for decades... the evangelical movement is growing, and it is changing the way America worships. Votes: 11

I had this unusual mix of curiosity, the ability to write in ways people understood, and when I appeared, viewers seemed to trust me to get them through some cataclysmic changes. Votes: 11

TV is a fickle business. I'm only good for the length of my contract. Votes: 11

I'm not going to sit on the porch of the old anchorman's home with a drool cup. Votes: 10

A big part of making your own luck is just charging out of the gate every morning. Votes: 10

What we have to do is put this in a coherent form for them at the end of the day, and on the big events, give them the kind of context that they deserve. Votes: 9

David Brinkley was an icon of modern broadcast journalism, a brilliant writer who could say in a few words what the country needed to hear during times of crisis, tragedy and triumph. Votes: 9

There is no delete button for bigotry. Votes: 9

Bias, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. Facts are your firewall against bias. Votes: 8

It is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced. Votes: 8

The WWII generation shares so many common values: duty, honor, country, personal responsibility and the marriage vow " For better or for worse--it was the last generation in which, broadly speaking, marriage was a commitment and divorce was not an option Votes: 8

There are more facts and more truths told in the first eight minutes of The Daily Show than most political news conferences in Washington. Votes: 7

there on the beaches of Normandy I began to reflect on the wonders of these ordinary people whose lives were laced with the markings of greatness. Votes: 7

The Fall of the House of Zeus is a riveting American saga of ambition, cunning, greed, corruption, high life and low life in the land of Faulkner and Grisham. These are good ol' boys gone bad with flair, private jets, and lots of cash to carry. Curtis Wilkie, a child of the South and a reporter's reporter, is the perfect match for this wild ride. Votes: 7

If fishing is a religion, fly fishing is the high church. Votes: 6

The response to 'The Greatest Generation' and the books that followed has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. Votes: 6

Sackcloth and kelp soup are not required, but the Buddhist reminder of the need to live lightly on the earth is a helpful guide to the daily habits and needs of us all. Votes: 5

The meaningful role of the father of the bride was played out long before the church music began. It stretched across those years of infancy and puberty, adolescence and young adulthood. That's when she needs you at her side. Votes: 5

If fishing is a religion, fly fishing is high church. Votes: 4

It will do us little good to wire the world if we short circut our souls. There is no delete button for racism, poverty, or sectarian violence. No key stroke can ever clean the air, save a river, preserve a forest. This transformational new technology must be an extension of our hearts as well as of our mind. Votes: 4

Washington tends to be full of too many traps. I think reporters there do a lot of attending news briefings and news conferences expecting to get the real news out of those relatively sterile environments. But you've got to deal with the obscure people as well as the names. Votes: 3

Cable penetrates 70 percent of American audiences now. Votes: 0

In your pursuit of your passions, always be young. In your relationship with others, always be grown-up. Votes: 0

It is not enough to wire the world if you short-circuit the soul. Technology without heart is not enough. Votes: 0

It doesn't do any good to wire the world if we short circuit the soul. Votes: 0

It will do us little good to wire the world if we limit our vision. It will do us little good to wire the world if we short circuit our souls. Votes: 0

It's all storytelling, you know. That's what journalism is all about. Votes: 0

Think of it as your ticket to change the world. Votes: 0

I think people of my generation became journalists - you know, right after the broadcast pioneer fathers - because we wanted to report the big stories. Votes: 0

Our obligation at the network is where do we fit into that and how can we best capitalize on that to make sure that our piece of that remains important to those young people. Votes: 0

What I think is that Fox has done a very smart job of carving out their place. Votes: 0

I was unknown because I came to Washington from the West. I started covering Watergate. Immodestly, I'd say I did it pretty well, in part because it was hard to go wrong. Votes: 0

Speaking generally, people who are drawn to journalism are interested in what happens from the ground up less than they are from the top down. Votes: 0

...what I did was experiment with a little marijuana like a lot of other people and walked away... Votes: 0

A common lament of the World War II generation is the absence today of personal responsibility Votes: 0

Continuous coverage of the war in the Persian Gulf will resume in a moment. Votes: 0

Don't be afraid to do something unconventional, to take a chance, to risk something. Votes: 0

Forty years after the greatest scandal of the American presidency, Elizabeth Drew's account in Washington Journal remains fresh and riveting, instructive and evocative. Her afterword on Nixon's post-Watergate life is equally compelling. Votes: 0

Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away. Votes: 0

I always think there are people looking not so much for information as for reassurance and reaffirmation of their views. Votes: 0

I believe you make your own luck. My motto is 'It's always a mistake not to go.' So I jump on the airplane, try new things-sometimes I get in way over my head, but then I think, I'll work my way out of this somehow. A big part of making your own luck is just charging out of the gate every morningThe thing I love about living in New York is that I never fail to get up in the morning and think,Something adventurous is going to happen today. The energy is operating at full throttle all the time. And if you want to be lucky you've got to go out and take advantage of it. Votes: 0

I hope the World War II generation doesn't lose that quality that made them so appealing: their modesty, and the way they are always looking forward and seldom back. Votes: 0

I like Washington a great deal. I enjoyed living there. But then I've enjoyed living almost everywhere I've ever been. I just find that it's a different menu wherever you go. Votes: 0

I remain the luckiest guy I know. Votes: 0

I think it's very much a matter between Barbara Walters and ABC. Votes: 0

I think they are paying a lot more attention to news now, by the way, in part because of national-security issues. A lot of young people have friends or family in the military today. Votes: 0

I wanted to see what was going on in the world. I sometimes think I overwished. Votes: 0

It's not the questions that get us in trouble - it's the answers... Votes: 0

It's so much easier to do it right than to do it wrong. Votes: 0

Life is filled with seasons and this is a different season. Votes: 0

No text message will ever replace the first kiss. Votes: 0

One of the things that we don't want to do is to destroy the infrastructure of Iraq, because in a few days we're going to own that country. Votes: 0

People do not like to have their favorite myths of idols challenged and as a rule I think that the public does not like bad news. Votes: 0

Peter will have a place in this brotherhood forever. Votes: 0

Peter, of the three of us, was our prince. He seemed so timeless. He had such elan and style. Votes: 0

Ratings to me are a little like the Chinese Government. I don't fully understand what makes a rating go. I don't know what makes the American television audience respond to one person and not t another. There very seldom are great differences between many television personalities. Votes: 0

Saving Italy is an astonishing account of a little known American effort to save Italy's vast store of priceless monuments and art during World War II. While American warriors were fighting the length of the country, other Americans were courageously working alongside to preserve the irreplaceable best of Italy's culture. Read it and be proud of those who were on their own front lines of a cruel war. Votes: 0

The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult trek of Southern blacks to the northern and western cities. This is an epic for all Americans who want to understand the making of our modern nation. Votes: 0

There has never been a military operation remotely approaching the scale and the complexity of D-Day. It involved 176,000 troops, more than 12,000 airplanes, almost 10,000 ships, boats, landing craft, frigates, sloops, and other special combat vessels--all involved in a surprise attack on the heavily fortified north coast of France, to secure a beachhead in the heart of enemy-held territory so that the march to Germany and victory could begin. It was daring, risky, confusing, bloody, and ultimately glorious [p.25] Votes: 0

Votes are something that you earn. Votes: 0

We were not just competitors and colleagues, we were friends. We had a lot of opportunities to reflect on this in the last year. It was a competitive brotherhood. Votes: 0

When you run in places you visit, you encounter things you'd never see otherwise. Votes: 0