TV journalist Harry Smith returns to Central College to teach

READY TO OFFER AID. WELL, LEGENDARY BROADCAST JOURNALIST HARRY SMITH IS COMING HOME. THE LONGTIME CBS AND NBC NEWS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT IS RETIRING AND SAYS HE WILL RETURN TO IOWA THIS FALL. THIS IS SO COOL. HE PLANS TO TEACH A CLASS AT CENTRAL COLLEGE IN PELLA, WHERE HE EARNED HIS DEGREE IN 1973. KCCI SENIOR REPORTER TODD MAGEL HAD THE CHANCE TO TALK WITH SMITH TODAY. TODD. WELL, HARRY SMITH SAYS HE HAS SPENT HIS LIFE AS A JOURNALIST ASKING QUESTIONS, SO IT MAKES SENSE THAT HE WILL TEACH A COURSE CALLED CURIOSITY. I-80. HERE’S A LOOK AT SMITH VISITING KCCI TV BACK WHEN HE WAS ANCHOR OF THE CBS MORNING NEWS. HE ENDED UP LATER AT NBC NEWS, WHERE HE IS JUST ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT. SMITH, WHO IS 72, SAYS HE’S ALWAYS WANTED TO RETURN TO HIS ALMA MATER TO TEACH HIS CURIOSITY CLASS IS NOT ABOUT JOURNALISM, IT’S ABOUT FINDING A WAY FOR STUDENTS TO FIND SUCCESS BY ADAPTING TO THE FAST CHANGING WORKPLACE. CENTRAL PRESIDENT MARK PUTNAM AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW, AND WE JUST DECIDED NOW’S THE TIME IS RIGHT TIME. TIME TO COME HOME AND, UH, SHARE SOME OF THE THINGS I’VE LEARNED ALONG ALONG THE TRAIL OF, WHAT, 40 SOME YEARS IN NETWORK TELEVISION? SMITH LIVES IN MANHATTAN, IN NEW YORK CITY, BUT SAYS HE WILL FIND A TEMPORARY PLACE TO STAY IN PELLA THIS FALL. I ASKED IF HE WANTS TO PERMANENTLY RETIRE TO IOWA, WHEN HE JOKED THAT IT REALLY DEPENDS ON HOW MANY STUDENTS SIGN UP FOR

NBC News said goodbye to Harry Smith this week as the veteran journalist prepares to teach college students about “curiosity” at his alma mater, Central College.A 1973 alum, Smith earned his B.A. in communications and theater from Central College, according to NBC News. He announced after his last NBC Nightly News broadcast Thursday that he would return to Pella to teach at Central College this fall as an executive in residence.“And I might write a book or two, we’ll see,” Smith said Friday on “Today.”Called “one of TV’s most distinguished journalists” by NBC, Smith has served as an NBC correspondent since 2011, when he joined “Rock Center” with Brian Williams. He got his start more than 30 years ago on radio stations in Denver and Cincinnati before shifting to television journalism with the Denver CBS affiliate, KMGH-TV.Smith became a CBS news reporter in 1986 and a correspondent in 1987 and hosted “CBS This Morning” and “The Early Show,” as well as serving on “CBS Evening News,” “Face the Nation” and “CBS News Sunday Morning” as a substitute anchor.“I’ve had just this unbelievable array of phenomenal experiences since coming to NBC, Smith said on Today, “and so I’m really full of nothing but gratitude.” Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.

DES MOINES, Iowa —

NBC News said goodbye to Harry Smith this week as the veteran journalist prepares to teach college students about “curiosity” at his alma mater, Central College.

A 1973 alum, Smith earned his B.A. in communications and theater from Central College, according to NBC News. He announced after his last NBC Nightly News broadcast Thursday that he would return to Pella to teach at Central College this fall as an executive in residence.

“And I might write a book or two, we’ll see,” Smith said Friday on “Today.”

Called “one of TV’s most distinguished journalists” by NBC, Smith has served as an NBC correspondent since 2011, when he joined “Rock Center” with Brian Williams. He got his start more than 30 years ago on radio stations in Denver and Cincinnati before shifting to television journalism with the Denver CBS affiliate, KMGH-TV.

Smith became a CBS news reporter in 1986 and a correspondent in 1987 and hosted “CBS This Morning” and “The Early Show,” as well as serving on “CBS Evening News,” “Face the Nation” and “CBS News Sunday Morning” as a substitute anchor.

“I’ve had just this unbelievable array of phenomenal experiences since coming to NBC, Smith said on Today, “and so I’m really full of nothing but gratitude.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.

TV journalist Harry Smith returns to Central College to teach

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