WASHINGTON - John Palmer, the longtime correspondent for NBC News who died Saturday after a brief illness, was remembered by former colleagues as a hardworking, gracious reporter who moved easily from war zones to the White House and who brought a reassuring voice to news broadcasts.
Palmer, 77, died Saturday at George Washington University Hospital of pulmonary fibrosis, according to his wife, Nancy.
“God bless John Palmer, tireless reporter, always a gentleman, loving husband and doting father,” former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw wrote on Twitter. He said the death of his friend of nearly 50 years was “heartbreaking.”
Palmer worked for NBC from 1962-90, and then returned to the network from 1994 until 2002. He became a familiar face to viewers of the Today show during much of the 1980s, delivering the news in astraightforward, no-nonsense manner at a time when the program often led in the ratings.
NBC News praised Palmer in a statement Saturday as a “brilliant, brave, and tireless journalist who guided viewers through many of the most significant events of the past half-century - from the early days of the civil rights movement through the tragedy of 9/11.”
“He covered five presidents and traveled to every corner of the world, always showing the empathy and compassion that helped set him apart,” the statement said. “His kindness is remembered by all of us, and it built lasting bonds throughout our news division.”
A native of Kingsport, Tenn., Palmer was a graduate of Northwestern University and held a master’s degree from Columbia University.
He got his start as a reporter in Atlanta in 1960, according to a news segment on Palmer that aired on NBC Nightly News on Saturday, and two years later moved up to the network.
In the 1970s, he was based in Beirut, covering the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, the war in Cyprus and the civil war in Angola. He later served as a correspondent in Paris and at the White House.
In April 1980, he landed one of his biggest scoops, breaking the news of the failed attempt by President Jimmy Carter’s administration to rescue the American hostages in Iran. Eight U.S. servicemen died when a helicopter crashed into a C-130 transport plane at a staging area in Iran.
His reporting on the story brought him the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for excellence in presidential news coverage, making him the first broadcast journalist to receive that honor.
“John Palmer brought to the White House beat his foreign policy experience and a steady reassuring voice, in good times and in bad,” NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell said in the tribute to Palmer that aired Saturday night.
In 1982, he became news anchor on the Today show. He remained there until 1989, when he was abruptly replaced by Deborah Norville, who was being groomed for a co-host role.
Speaking to anchor Brian Williams on MSNBC after his retirement in 2002, Palmer looked back on his tenure with satisfaction, including the access it gave him to the nation’s chief executives.
“I was enriched as a kid from the East Tennessee mountains,” said the Kingsport, Tenn., native, “to be able to go fishing with Jimmy Carter, to go to the movies with Ronald Reagan, and to play golf with Bill Clinton.”
After exiting NBC, Palmer continued to work in journalism, including through hosting roles on Retirement Living TV, a network dedicated to senior citizens.
He has three grown daughters, one of whom is a producer for the Today show, one who works in the entertainment industry and one who is in Washington pursuing a journalism career.
Information for this article was contributed by Norman Gomlak of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 08/05/2013