William Thomas Pettit (April 23, 1931 – December 22, 1995) was an American
journalist, who was a television news correspondent for
NBC from the 1960s through 1995. During most of that period, he filed reports for ''
NBC Nightly News'' (as well as the preceding ''
Huntley-Brinkley Report'') and served numerous times on the panel of ''
Meet the Press.'' He served as one of NBC's floor reporters at the political conventions in 1972, 1976, and 1980.
Biography
Pettit began his broadcasting career in the state of his upbringing,
Iowa, first working for
WOI-TV located then in
Ames, Iowa
Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...
, followed by a stint with
KCRG-TV in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...
during the 1950s before moving on to positions at
WCCO-TV in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
and at the NBC owned-and-operated station, now
KYW-TV
KYW-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WPSG (channel 57 ...
in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His first position with the NBC network was in the network's
Los Angeles bureau, where he worked for 13 years, except for a brief tenure with
National Educational Television. By 1975, Pettit moved to the
Washington, D.C. bureau, where he would cover national affairs until 1982, when he became executive vice president of NBC News under president
Reuven Frank. In 1985, he returned to reporting, serving as national affairs correspondent until 1989, when he began a three-year stint in NBC's
London office. He continued working as a correspondent until 1995, the year of his death.
After
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Pettit was dispatched to Dallas where he served, in effect, as a police reporter. In the famous footage of
Lee Harvey Oswald being killed by
Jack Ruby
Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...
in
Dallas, Pettit, standing six feet away, is heard exclaiming, "He's been shot. He's been shot. Lee (Harvey) Oswald has been shot." NBC was the only network airing Oswald's transfer live.
Pettit died after complications from surgery, at the age of 64.
Awards
Pettit was best known for his acumen in interviewing national leaders, including several presidents. He won several awards for his coverage, notably the
Peabody and
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
awards.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettit, Tom
American television reporters and correspondents
Executive Vice Presidents of NBC News
1995 deaths
1931 births
People from Cincinnati