New York ? After bringing viewers the news for nearly 23 years, NBC anchor Tom Brokaw signed off Wednesday expressing gratitude for what he got in return.

“Thanks for all that I have learned from you,” he said at the end of his final “Nightly News” broadcast, his voice wavering just a bit. “That’s been my richest reward.”

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Brokaw reminded his audience how “we’ve been through a lot together, through dark days and nights, and seasons of hope and joy.

“Whatever the story, I had only one objective: to get it right,” he said, adding he was “always mindful that your patience and attention didn’t come with a lifetime warranty.”

Making good on an exit plan announced in May 2002, Brokaw, 64, is stepping away from daily journalism to pursue his varied other interests, including more time on his Montana ranch. But his NBC association will continue under an agreement to host at least three documentaries a year.

And if a big story breaks, “I’ll report for duty,” he told The Associated Press recently. “It doesn’t mean I’ll go back to what I did before. They’ll have to find a new role for me.”

While Brokaw was saying his good-byes, Peter Jennings was praising him on ABC as “a competitor in the best sense, which in our trade means, when he beats us on a story, it is usually the result of enterprise.”

Over on CBS, Dan Rather said, “For more than 30 years, I have known Tom as friend and competitor who has earned the respect of his audience, and his colleagues, myself included.” Then to Brian Williams, Rather added, “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

Williams, long groomed as Brokaw’s successor, takes over “Nightly News” with today’s broadcast.