In July 1961 , Chancellor replaced Dave Garroway as host of NBC 's '' Today '' program , a role he filled for fourteen months . Never comfortable with the genial persona required of a '' Today '' anchor , Chancellor asked for , and was granted , a release from his contract with the show in the summer of 1962 . He left the program in September , and assumed a role as political correspondent for NBC News . He , Frank McGee , Edwin Newman , and Sander Vanocur comprised a team that covered the national political conventions in the 1960s so well , they were dubbed by industry observers as the " Four Horsemen . " At the 1964 Republican National Convention , he was arrested for refusing to cede his spot on the floor to " Goldwater Girls , " supporters of the Republican presidential candidate , Barry Goldwater . When security came to get him , he was forced to sign off : " I 've been promised bail , ladies and gentlemen , by my office . This is John Chancellor , somewhere in custody . " He then became the director of the Voice of America in 1965 , at the request of President Lyndon Johnson , a spot he held until 1967
1964 Republican National Convention
1964 Republican National Convention
John Chancellor