 During his tenure with NBC News, he held several positions, including correspondent stints in Chicago, Paris, and the Middle East; White House correspondent (1979–1982); anchor of the Sunday edition of "NBC Nightly News" (1984-1986) and news anchor for "The Today Show" (1982–1989).In April 1980, Palmer reported on the failure of Operation Eagle Claw, the mission to rescue the American hostages held by Iran.This earned him the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for excellence in presidential news coverage, becoming the first broadcast journalist to ever receive this prestigious award.