Tom Brokaw says he's not going to spend his last year as NBC's top anchor collecting awards, but he's honored to make an exception for the National Press Club.

The Washington institution gave Brokaw its Fourth Estate Award for Lifetime Achievement Wednesday.

"Every time I go through there, I'm struck by how important the press club is because it does represent the newspapers that reflect the heartbeat of the country," he said.

Brokaw, 63, said he's trying to figure out what to do after he leaves Nightly News in November. Chances are "more than 50-50" that he'll continue some relationship with NBC News, he said.