# Tom Pettit

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{{Short description|American television journalist (1931–1995)}}
{{other people|Thomas Pettit|Thomas Pettit (disambiguation){{!}}Thomas Pettit}}
{{for|the American real tennis player|Tom Pettitt}}
{{Infobox person
 | name             = Tom Pettit
 | image            = Tom Pettit of NBC News at 1976 DNC.jpg
 | caption          = Pettit at the [1976 Democratic National Convention](/source/1976_Democratic_National_Convention)
 | birth_name       = William Thomas Pettit
 | birth_date       = {{Birth date|1931|04|23}}
 | birth_place      = [Cincinnati, Ohio](/source/Cincinnati), U.S.
 | death_date       = {{death date and age|1995|12|22|1931|04|23}}
 | death_place      = [New York City](/source/New_York_City), U.S.
 | death_cause      = 
 | occupation       = [News correspondent](/source/Correspondent)
 | spouse           = 
 | years_active     = 1953–1995
 }}

'''William Thomas Pettit''' (April 23, 1931 – December 22, 1995) was an American [journalist](/source/journalist), who was a television news correspondent for [NBC](/source/NBC_News) from the 1960s through 1995. During most of that period, he filed reports for ''[NBC Nightly News](/source/NBC_Nightly_News)'' (as well as the preceding ''[Huntley-Brinkley Report](/source/Huntley-Brinkley_Report)'') and served numerous times on the panel of ''[Meet the Press](/source/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](/source/Iowa), first working for [WOI-TV](/source/WOI-TV) located then in [Ames, Iowa](/source/Ames%2C_Iowa), followed by a stint with [KCRG-TV](/source/KCRG-TV) in [Cedar Rapids, Iowa](/source/Cedar_Rapids%2C_Iowa) during the 1950s before moving on to positions at [WCCO-TV](/source/WCCO-TV) in [Minneapolis, Minnesota](/source/Minneapolis%2C_Minnesota) and at the NBC owned-and-operated station, now [KYW-TV](/source/KYW-TV) in [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania](/source/Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania). His first position with the NBC network was in the network's [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles) bureau, where he worked for 13 years, except for a brief tenure with [National Educational Television](/source/National_Educational_Television). By 1975, Pettit moved to the [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.) bureau, where he would cover national affairs until 1982, when he became executive vice president of NBC News under president [Reuven Frank](/source/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](/source/London) office.  He continued working as a correspondent until 1995, the year of his death.

After [President John F. Kennedy was assassinated](/source/John_F._Kennedy_assassination) in 1963, Pettit was dispatched to Dallas where he served, in effect, as a police reporter.  In the famous footage of [Lee Harvey Oswald](/source/Lee_Harvey_Oswald) being killed by [Jack Ruby](/source/Jack_Ruby) in [Dallas](/source/Dallas), Pettit, standing six feet away, is heard exclaiming, "He's been shot. He's been shot. Lee (Harvey) Oswald has been shot."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-23-mn-17066-story.html |title=Tom Pettit; Award-Winning NBC News Correspondent |newspaper=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) |date=23 December 1995}}</ref>  NBC was the only network airing Oswald's transfer live.

Pettit died after complications from surgery, at the age of 64.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/23/arts/tom-pettit-64-tv-reporter-for-nbc.html |title=Tom Pettit, 64, TV Reporter for NBC |newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=23 December 1995}}</ref>

==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](/source/Peabody_Award) and [Emmy](/source/Emmy_Award) awards.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|3417583}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettit, Tom}}
Category:American television reporters and correspondents
Category:Executive vice presidents of NBC News
Category:1995 deaths
Category:1931 births
Category:Journalists from Cincinnati

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