Brokaw says farewell on final NBC newscast

NEW YORK -- Tom Brokaw began with a report on U.S. troops in Iraq. He ended the broadcast by saying farewell.\nAfter nearly 23 years in the "NBC Nightly News" anchor chair, Brokaw reminded his viewers that "we've been through a lot together, through dark days and nights, and seasons of hope and joy.\n"Whatever the story, I had only one objective: to get it right," he said Wednesday, declaring how he was "always mindful that your patience and attention didn't come with a lifetime warranty."\nBrokaw, 64, is leaving "Nightly News" and daily journalism to pursue other interests, including more time on his Montana ranch. He will still contribute to NBC news, doing at least three documentaries a year.\nWhile Brokaw was saying his good-byes, Peter Jennings was praising him on ABC as "a competitor in the best sense, which in our trade means when he beats us on a story, it is usually the result of enterprise."\nOn his CBS newscast, Dan Rather said, "For more than 30 years, I have known Tom as friend and competitor who has earned the respect of his audience and his colleagues, myself included." Then to Brian Williams, Rather added, "Welcome to the neighborhood."\nWilliams takes over "Nightly News" with Thursday's broadcast.\nSpeaking Thursday on the "Today" show, Williams, 45, said he does not expect big changes in the program. He said it excelled "because it kind of skews to middle America. It calls balls and strikes right down the middle."\n"I don't want to pretend this will be a day like any other day," he added. "I feel the weight of history."\nThe NBC transition plan was briefly upstaged last week by the surprise announcement that Rather would be departing "The CBS Evening News" anchor chair in March, after 24 years. (No successor to the 73-year-old Rather, who will report full-time for "60 Minutes," has yet been named.)\nThose changes will leave only Jennings among the old-timers.\nAs Brokaw marked his 30th anniversary with NBC in 1996, he recalled the inevitable ups and downs at the network where he stuck it out and prospered.\n"I never expected the waves would be quite as steep as they were," he admitted. "But even in the worst of times, it was better than anything I thought I'd ever have in life."\nIn 1981, with NBC's prime-time ratings in a tailspin -- Brokaw almost leaped to ABC News, whose new boss, Roone Arledge, had come courting.\n"I came very, very close to going," Brokaw said. "So close that I went out to dinner with (wife) Meredith and said, 'I'm gonna do this,' and she went to bed thinking it was a good idea. Then I sat up and drank some scotch and smoked a cigar and stared out the window for several hours."\nAt NBC nearly a quarter-century later, Brokaw signed off Wednesday by expressing gratitude to the viewers who had watched him through the years.\n"Thanks for all that I have learned from you," he said. "That's been my richest reward"