# Tom Aspell

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tom_Aspell.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Aspell
> Source revision: 1324553256
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{distinguish|Tom Aspaul}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Tom Aspell
| image        = Tom-aspell.jpg
| alt          =
| caption      =
| birth_name   =
| birth_date   = 1950
| birth_place  = [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand)
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|2013|02|11|1950||}}
| death_place  =
| nationality  =
| other_names  =
| occupation   = [Television journalist](/source/Journalist)
| title        = [News Producer](/source/News_producer)/[Correspondent](/source/Correspondent)<ref name=NBC-bio/>
| known_for    =
| employer     = [NBC News](/source/NBC_News)
| awards       =
| years_active = 43
| spouse       = Nujud Dabbagh
| children     = 2 sons (Peter and Tiger)
}}

'''Tom Aspell''' (1950&nbsp;– February 11, 2013) was a [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand)-born [U.S.](/source/United_States) television [news producer](/source/news_producer), foreign [correspondent](/source/correspondent), and [cameraman](/source/Camera_operator).<ref name=NBC-bio>{{cite web|title=Tom Aspell NBC News Producer/Correspondent|url=http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/networks/nbcnews/nbcnewscorrespondents/biographies?bio=contents/biographies/Talent%20Bios/NBCNews/NBCNewsCorrespondets/Aspell_Tom.xml|work=NBC News Correspondents - Biographies|publisher=NBCUniversal|accessdate=February 13, 2013}}</ref><ref name="NBC death">{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Brian|title=Longtime NBC News correspondent Tom Aspell dies|url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/12/16941549-longtime-nbc-news-correspondent-tom-aspell-dies|newspaper=NBC News|date=February 12, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Mediabistro death"/> He was employed by [NBC News](/source/NBC_News) for 28 years and previously worked for [ABC News](/source/ABC_News_(United_States)), [CBS News](/source/CBS_News), and [Visnews](/source/Visnews).<ref name=NBC-bio/><ref name="NBC death"/><ref name="Mediabistro death"/>

==Career==
Aspell began his career as a scriptwriter and cameraman in 1970 with Visnews.<ref name="NBC death"/><ref name="Mediabistro death"/> He was among the few foreign journalists who remained in [Southeast Asia](/source/Southeast_Asia) when [Saigon fell](/source/Fall_of_Saigon) to communist forces on April 30, 1975.<ref name=NBC-bio/><ref name="Mediabistro death"/> From 1975 to 1978, he was a freelance cameraman in the [Middle East](/source/Middle_East).<ref name=NBC-bio/> In 1978, he joined CBS News as a cameraman covering [Beirut](/source/Beirut), where he then worked as a producer for ABC News from 1981 to 1983.<ref name=NBC-bio/><ref name="Mediabistro death"/>

In 1985, he was hired by NBC News as a producer based in [Cyprus](/source/Cyprus).<ref name="NBC death"/><ref name="Mediabistro death"/> He then became a foreign correspondent covering major events around the world.<ref name="NBC death"/> His first on-air report for NBC was from [Baghdad](/source/Baghdad) in August 1990 after [Iraq invaded Kuwait](/source/Invasion_of_Kuwait).<ref name=NBC-bio/> From 1992 on, he spent considerable time covering the war-torn region of [Bosnia](/source/Bosnia).<ref name=NBC-bio/>

==Personal life==
Aspell lived on Cyprus with his wife Nujud Dabbagh and their two sons.<ref name=NBC-bio/><ref name="NBC death"/> He loved sailing.<ref name="NBC death"/>

==Death==
Aspell died on February 11, 2013, after two years suffering from lung cancer.<ref name="NBC death"/><ref name="Mediabistro death"/>  He was 62.<ref name="NBC death"/><ref name="Mediabistro death"/> [Brian Williams](/source/Brian_Williams), the anchor and managing editor of ''[NBC Nightly News](/source/NBC_Nightly_News)'', said Aspell was a journalist with "an intense brand of cool under fire".<ref name="NBC death"/><ref name="Mediabistro death">{{cite news|last=Knox|first=Merrill|title=Longtime NBC News Foreign Correspondent Tom Aspell Dies|url=https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/longtime-nbc-news-foreign-correspondent-tom-aspell-dies/|newspaper=Mediabistro.com/TV Newser|date=February 13, 2013}}</ref> NBC News president [Steve Capus](/source/Steve_Capus) described Aspell as "understated, selfless, perpetually cool, shrewd, wry, curmudgeonly, and a damn good reporter".<ref name="Mediabistro death"/>

==Awards==
*[National Press Photographers Association](/source/National_Press_Photographers_Association) Award for coverage of the [Iranian Revolution](/source/Iranian_Revolution) (1979)<ref name=NBC-bio/>
*[Emmy Award](/source/Emmy_Award) for coverage of the [Romanian Revolution](/source/Romanian_Revolution) (1989)<ref name=NBC-bio/>
*[National Headliner Award](/source/National_Headliner_Award) for coverage of Yugoslavia (1993)<ref name=NBC-bio/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|1519449}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspell, Tom}}
Category:1950 births
Category:2013 deaths
Category:NBC News people
Category:American television reporters and correspondents
Category:American people of New Zealand descent
Category:New Zealand emigrants to the United States
Category:American expatriates in Cyprus

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tom Aspell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Aspell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Aspell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.