Obit

Palmer, 77

AMERICAN JOURNALIST and veteran reporter John Palmer died of pulmonary fibrosis last August 3. He was 77.

Palmer worked for NBC News from 1962 to 1990. In the 1970s, he was based in Beirut and covered the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, the war in Cyprus, and the civil war in Angola. He also served as correspondent in Paris and the White House. (“John Palmer Remembered By NBC News“, AP, By Jessica Gresko and Frazier Moore)

In 1980, Palmer broke the news on the Carter administration’s failed attempt to rescue the American hostages being held in Iran. He received the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for excellence in presidential news coverage—the first broadcast journalist so honored.

In 1986, he anchored the first hours of NBC’s Challenger Space Shuttle disaster coverage. He left the network in 1990 and became the anchor of the syndicated news program Instant Recall. He also hosted the weekly Discovery Journal on the Discovery Channel. He returned to NBC as a Washington-based national correspondent in 1994.

In a statement on Palmer’s death, NBC News said: “John was 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. His kindness is remembered by all of us, and it built lasting bonds throughout our news division.”