The Man, Myth and Legend... Bryant Gumbel Inspired Millions

Bryant Gumbel and his impact on broadcast journalism is one of the biggest impacts a person has ever had on a proffesion. 

He’s one of the most important figures in television news, especially when it comes to morning shows and representation in the media. A lot of what we see today in shows like The Today Show or other morning programs was an example of his impact.

Bryant Gumbel was born in 1948 in New Orleans. After he graduated college, he actually struggled a bit to find his path and worked a few different jobs before getting an opportunity in television. 

He got his opportunity when his older brother, Greg Gumbel, who was already working in broadcasting, helped him get a position in sports media. From there, Bryant started working behind the scenes and eventually moved on camera. He took an intersting route to News because usually News anchors and reporters at that time didn't start out in sports.

It turned out to be one of his best strengths because it gave him a different kind of on-air presence. It taught him to be more conversational but still professional. He worked for NBC Sports early in his career, where he was able to build likleness and credibility on Live TV.

In 1982, Gumbel became co-anchor of the Today Show, which was a huge moment in not only his career, but media in general. He replaced Tom Brokaw and worked with Jane Pauley and later Katie Couric. He stayed on the show for about 15 years, due to his likiness by veiwers. During this time, he helped shape the format of morning news into what we recognize today.

One of the biggest reasons Bryant Gumbel is important is because he broke racial barriers in television. He was the first Black anchor of a major network morning show. Since then, we have seen more and more Black anchors and reporters on-air. He even worked with Alison Davis, a co-founder of the National Assiociation of Black Journalist.

Gumbel was known for being serious and focused on real journalism, even in a morning show format. While some morning shows leaned more toward entertainment, he made sure important issues and hard news were still covered.

During his time on Today, the show became number one in the ratings. That’s important because it proved that audiences actually wanted a mix of serious journalism and not just people laughing and joking at 6:00 in the morning.

After leaving Today, Gumbel didn’t slow down. He went to CBS News and later hosted Real Sports with Bryant Gumbelon HBO. Which focused on the business side of sports including the corruption, politics and unfairness. This earned him numeruos Emmys and Peabody awards proving that his impact had no age limit.