American Broadcast TV News Anchors Quiz

Answer: Walter Cronkite

CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite first gained broadcast news prominence while covering the assassination of JFK. One of TV news' most memorable moments occurred when, while announcing the death of the murdered president, Cronkite appeared to choke back tears.

In the years following that monumental event, until his retirement from broadcast news in the 1980s, Walter Cronkite was often referred to as "the most trusted man in America."

Answer: Chet Huntley and David Brinkley

During the height of their joint reign as NBC news anchors, in the late sixties and early seventies, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley were known in the TV broadcast news business as "highbrows". In truth, both had logged many hours as field reporters. According to "Stars Of Broadcast News", by Patricia Walsham, Chet Huntley was, in fact, the son of poor Irish immigrants, who had already dropped out of college when his avid interest in news and the sonorous timbre of his voice led him to find success as a news anchor at NBC. And even though Mr. Brinkley hailed from a more refined background than his co-anchor, Mr. Huntley, he was reportedly still very accessible to those around him.

Answer: Dan Rather

While walking through Manhattan in the late eighties, Dan Rather was accosted by a man shouting, "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" at him. The reason for the man's bizarre behavior toward Mr. Rather remains a mystery, but the freakish experience prompted R.E.M. to write the song of the same name, although, for whatever reason, they chose not to include Mr. Rather's name in the lyrics.

Answer: Peter Jennings

Peter Jennings, anchor of "ABC World News", was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1938. He became a permanent resident of the States in the late sixties, and in 1974, won a Peabody Award for his profile of then-Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat.

Answer: Tom Brokaw

Tom Brokaw has said that, of all his accomplishments, he is most proud of his books on the "greatest generation", from whose ranks came the soldiers who fought in World War II. Bidding farewell to his television audience on his last night as anchor of NBC Nightly News, Mr. Brokaw thanked the "Greatest Generation" for the lessons they had taught him.

Answer: Barbara Walters

Poor Barbara Walters! After years of toiling unsung as a reporter and news anchor on NBC's "Today" show, she opted for the big bucks and accepted ABC's offer to co-host the nightly news. Unfortunately, the lack of chemistry between her and Harry Reasoner was immediately apparent to viewers, who were universally negative in their appraisal of a woman in the role of news anchor. Luckily for future female news anchors, Ms. Walters rebounded quickly and went on to host her famous interview series as well as the primetime ABC show, "20/20" and the daytime talkfest, "The View."

Answer: Diane Sawyer

Kentucky-born Diane Sawyer is perhaps best known for her role as a co-anchor on ABC's "Good Morning, America." However, in 1974, she was hired by former president, Richard Nixon to help in the preparation of his memoirs. Prior to working for Mr. Nixon, she had been a White House press aide.

Answer: Deborah Norville

Deborah Norville had just inherited the "Today" show's co-anchor crown from the recently-retired Jane Pauley when she became pregnant with her first child. Already the focus of criticism from viewers who missed Ms. Pauley and saw her replacement as a youthful opportunist, Ms. Norville further complicated the situation by allowing herself to be photographed breast-feeding her newborn son.

She was relieved of her "Today" show duties soon after, although, subsequently, she was able to rebuild her career as a featured reporter on the same network.

Answer: Connie Chung

Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumble, and Hugh Downes ("20/20") are all alums of the "Today" show, but Connie Chung got her start at CBS before moving on to CNN and beyond.

Answer: Tom Brokaw

During the anthrax scare following 9/11, a tainted letters arrived at Tom Brokaw's office, creating a nightmare situation for one of his employees who was thought to have been infected. Fortunately, she hadn't been, but Mr. Brokaw's anger surfaced during a TV interview when he fought back tears while denouncing the cruelty and cowardice of the person who sent the poisoned letter.