Tom Aspell should not be confused with Tom Aspaul.
| Tom Aspell | |
| Birth Date: | 1950 |
| Birth Place: | New Zealand |
| Occupation: | Television journalist |
| News Producer/Correspondent | |
| Employer: | NBC News |
| Years Active: | 43 |
| Spouse: | Nujud Dabbagh |
| Children: | 2 sons (Peter and Tiger) |
Tom Aspell (1950 – February 11, 2013) was a New Zealand-born U.S. television news producer, foreign correspondent, and cameraman.[1] [2] He was employed by NBC News for 28 years and previously worked for ABC News, CBS News, and Visnews.[1] [2]
Aspell began his career as a scriptwriter and cameraman in 1970 with Visnews.[2] He was among the few foreign journalists who remained in Southeast Asia when Saigon fell to communist forces on April 30, 1975.[1] From 1975 to 1978, he was a freelance cameraman in the Middle East.[1] In 1978, he joined CBS News as a cameraman covering Beirut, where he then worked as a producer for ABC News from 1981 to 1983.[1]
In 1985, he was hired by NBC News as a producer based in Cyprus.[2] He then became a foreign correspondent covering major events around the world.[2] His first on-air report for NBC was from Baghdad in August 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait.[1] From 1992 on, he spent considerable time covering the war-torn region of Bosnia.[1]
Aspell lived on Cyprus with his wife Nujud Dabbagh and their two sons.[1] [2] He loved sailing.[2]
Aspell died on February 11, 2013, following a two-year battle with lung cancer.[2] He was 62.[2] Brian Williams, the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, said Aspell was a journalist with "an intense brand of cool under fire".[2] [3] NBC News president Steve Capus described Aspell as "understated, selfless, perpetually cool, shrewd, wry, curmudgeonly, and a damn good reporter".[3]