In a 2023 CBS News Sunday Morning interview with Jane Pauley, Tom Brokaw described giving up his daily work at NBC as a painful experience, and he tied that loss to his decade-long battle with multiple myeloma. He said he had to walk away from the network “as they were walking away from me,” and that he “just wasn’t the same person.” The word “painful” is the headline’s characterization of those remarks. Brokaw’s own words describe loss, distance and a changed sense of self.
The story has two separate records that are easy to blend together. NBC’s January 2021 announcement covered his retirement after 55 years. The emotional account of leaving came later, in 2023, and it is Brokaw’s personal recollection rather than a statement from the network.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
This Is Me: A Reckoning | $20.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Going Further: The Incomparable Clarence Thomas | $24.48 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story | $22.27 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Greenlights | $9.48 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Elon Musk | $14.00 | Buy on Amazon |
What Brokaw said about leaving NBC
The core passage comes from the June 2023 interview, which CBS News Sunday Morning broadcast and which Paramount also publicized. Brokaw said:
“I really had to give up my daily activity with NBC. You know, I had to walk away from them, as they were walking away from me. I just wasn’t the same person.”
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.#1 Best Overall
Two points in that passage matter for reading it accurately. First, the phrase “as they were walking away from me” is Brokaw’s description of how the separation felt to him. It is not a finding that NBC pushed him out, and nothing in the sources establishes a dispute over his departure. Second, the sentence about not being “the same person” is a reflection on how the illness and the change in his working life altered him, not a medical statement.
A second remark from the same interview adds to that picture of the transition:
Rank #2
“And so for the first time in my life, I was kind of out there, you know, in a place I had never been in my life.”
He also referred to his illness in plain terms, saying, “I’ve had a bad experience.” Taken together, these lines show a man describing disorientation after decades of a daily newsroom routine, not a formal account of a contract, a decision or a negotiation.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Rank #3
How the cancer connects to the exit
Brokaw has said he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma about a decade before the 2023 interview. CBS’s preview of the interview, published June 23, 2023, described the diagnosis in those rounded terms, and Paramount’s release framed the conversation around the illness and its effect on his life. Neither source gives an exact diagnosis date, and this article does not supply one.
The link between the illness and the departure is therefore an interpretation that the interview itself invites. Brokaw discussed giving up daily work while living with multiple myeloma, and the two subjects sat together in the conversation. The reporting does not establish that the cancer was the sole or formal reason he stopped working daily, and it does not describe the medical timeline that led to that decision.
Rank #4
Timeline: the announcement and the later account
The following dated records separate the official chronology from the personal account:
| Date | Source | What it establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 22, 2021 | NBC News retirement announcement | Brokaw would retire after 55 years at NBC News. The release recounts that he joined NBC in 1966, co-hosted TODAY from 1976 and anchored NBC Nightly News from 1983. | It does not give a reason for the retirement and does not mention cancer. |
| June 23, 2023 | CBS News preview of the Jane Pauley interview | Brokaw was described as diagnosed with multiple myeloma about a decade earlier, and he reflected on changes in his life and work. | It does not give an exact diagnosis date or a current health status. |
| June 25, 2023 | CBS News Sunday Morning broadcast; Paramount release for streaming on Paramount+ | The interview aired on CBS News Sunday Morning and was made available on Paramount+, and it covered his illness and his new book. | It does not establish whether the program is still available on Paramount+ today. |
The gap of more than two years between NBC’s announcement and Brokaw’s 2023 remarks is itself important. The network’s release is a career record written at the moment of retirement. The interview is a later reflection, shaped by his illness and by the book he was promoting, and it should be read as a personal account.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Best Value
What the sources do not establish
- Brokaw’s current health. The sources describe his situation as of 2023. They do not report his condition in 2026.
- Any dispute with NBC. No source reports a disagreement over the terms of his exit, and nothing here suggests one.
- A cause stated by NBC. The 2021 announcement does not connect the retirement to cancer.
- Multiple myeloma statistics. The reporting on Brokaw’s story contains no study figures, survival rates or incidence data, and none are offered here.
Further reading: the memoir
The interview centered on Brokaw’s memoir, Never Give Up: A Prairie Family’s Story. CBS listed it in print, ebook and audio editions, with Amazon among the retailers. To find current listings, search Amazon for “Tom Brokaw Never Give Up A Prairie Family’s Story book” and confirm the edition and format before buying, since availability and prices change.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
