DEATH OF A GREAT NEWSMAN
As you already know, it's a sad time in television news and a sad time in journalism.
ABC anchorman Peter Jennings, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer four months ago, lost his battle on Sunday at age 67. Jennings had anchored "World News Tonight" on ABC since 1983 when he took solo position following the passing of Frank Reynolds. During his over two decades at the desk, Jennings' style of reporting helped make him the top network newscast until the mid-'90s; and unlike rival Dan Rather, he didn't go into any one-liners that annoyed the viewers or faked any documents. He just did what he had to do for 30 minutes every weeknight: Report the happenings as they were happening.
Born in Toronto, Canada in 1938, Jennings started his career at a very young age: Nine years old, doing a show called "Peter's People" on CBC radio; his father, Charles, was himself a newsman. A high school dropout, he decided to continue with his radio career while doing musical theatre -- and a dance show similar to "American Bandstand" -- on the side. In the early '60s, he went to the fledging CTV network to anchor its late evening news. His coverage of John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas and the civil rights movement caught the eye of ABC News, who hired him in 1964.
After his first several months as reporter, he would become the youngest ever network anchor in 1965 with "Peter Jennings and the News." But viewers were better off watching Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC or Walter Cronkite on CBS, and he was back to the reporting beat after only three years. Assignments in the Middle East and the 1972 massacre in Munich would later follow, until 1978 when Jennings was part of a three-anchor team on "World News Tonight." He would be based in London while Frank Reynolds and Max Robinson held forts in Washington and Chicago respectively.
Finally, in 1983, Reynolds' untimely passing would award Jennings the sole anchor position, though he didn't earn it that easy. His future rival at NBC Tom Brokaw was considered, but he turned it down. Over the years Jennings, Brokaw, and Rather battled for ratings supremacy starting in the mid-'80s. The high points in his career came on New Year's Eve 1999, when 175 million viewers watched a portion of his millennium coverage, and on September 11, 2001 with the terrorist attacks. He became a U.S. citizen in 2003.
In April 2005, he announced to his viewers that he was diagnosed with lung cancer -- the same disease that killed another journalism great, Edward R. Murrow, in 1965. He started smoking in his teens until the late '80s, but resumed after 9/11. Peter did say that he would return to the anchor chair sometime soon...only there would never be a sometime soon; his lung cancer announcement would be his last ever broadcast.
Jennings leaves behind his fourth wife Kayce Freed and two children from his previous marriage to Kati Marton. His reporting earned him 14 Emmys and two Peabody awards.
With Brian Williams already picking up where Brokaw left off, Bob Schieffer taking Rather's chair at CBS temporarily, and now Jennings gone to that great newsroom in the sky, the big question now is...Is network news starting to die a slow death thanks to the cable news channels and the Internet? Not really. Even though viewership numbers have dwindled in recent years, they are still much larger than those of the cable news channels'. For the previous week (Jul. 25-31), "NBC Nightly News" was still tops among the newscasts with 8.3 million viewers, followed by "World News Tonight" at 7.6 million and "CBS Evening News," 6.6 million. Even though the "Big Three" newscasters are done doesn't mean the network evening news is.
Back to Jennings for a bit: Tributes from all over, from those on the ABCNews.com message boards to even President Bush, continued to pour in. A woman said that Peter was "my generation's Walter Cronkite", while another viewer stated that "you were immediately captured by his smart, soothing and yet personal voice." It was his Canadian drawl that sucked viewers into his newscast until the end, and Peter Jennings will be sorely missed by millions. A great newsman is now in heaven; will there be anyone like him? Only time will tell.
As you already know, it's a sad time in television news and a sad time in journalism.
ABC anchorman Peter Jennings, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer four months ago, lost his battle on Sunday at age 67. Jennings had anchored "World News Tonight" on ABC since 1983 when he took solo position following the passing of Frank Reynolds. During his over two decades at the desk, Jennings' style of reporting helped make him the top network newscast until the mid-'90s; and unlike rival Dan Rather, he didn't go into any one-liners that annoyed the viewers or faked any documents. He just did what he had to do for 30 minutes every weeknight: Report the happenings as they were happening.
Born in Toronto, Canada in 1938, Jennings started his career at a very young age: Nine years old, doing a show called "Peter's People" on CBC radio; his father, Charles, was himself a newsman. A high school dropout, he decided to continue with his radio career while doing musical theatre -- and a dance show similar to "American Bandstand" -- on the side. In the early '60s, he went to the fledging CTV network to anchor its late evening news. His coverage of John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas and the civil rights movement caught the eye of ABC News, who hired him in 1964.
After his first several months as reporter, he would become the youngest ever network anchor in 1965 with "Peter Jennings and the News." But viewers were better off watching Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC or Walter Cronkite on CBS, and he was back to the reporting beat after only three years. Assignments in the Middle East and the 1972 massacre in Munich would later follow, until 1978 when Jennings was part of a three-anchor team on "World News Tonight." He would be based in London while Frank Reynolds and Max Robinson held forts in Washington and Chicago respectively.
Finally, in 1983, Reynolds' untimely passing would award Jennings the sole anchor position, though he didn't earn it that easy. His future rival at NBC Tom Brokaw was considered, but he turned it down. Over the years Jennings, Brokaw, and Rather battled for ratings supremacy starting in the mid-'80s. The high points in his career came on New Year's Eve 1999, when 175 million viewers watched a portion of his millennium coverage, and on September 11, 2001 with the terrorist attacks. He became a U.S. citizen in 2003.
In April 2005, he announced to his viewers that he was diagnosed with lung cancer -- the same disease that killed another journalism great, Edward R. Murrow, in 1965. He started smoking in his teens until the late '80s, but resumed after 9/11. Peter did say that he would return to the anchor chair sometime soon...only there would never be a sometime soon; his lung cancer announcement would be his last ever broadcast.
Jennings leaves behind his fourth wife Kayce Freed and two children from his previous marriage to Kati Marton. His reporting earned him 14 Emmys and two Peabody awards.
With Brian Williams already picking up where Brokaw left off, Bob Schieffer taking Rather's chair at CBS temporarily, and now Jennings gone to that great newsroom in the sky, the big question now is...Is network news starting to die a slow death thanks to the cable news channels and the Internet? Not really. Even though viewership numbers have dwindled in recent years, they are still much larger than those of the cable news channels'. For the previous week (Jul. 25-31), "NBC Nightly News" was still tops among the newscasts with 8.3 million viewers, followed by "World News Tonight" at 7.6 million and "CBS Evening News," 6.6 million. Even though the "Big Three" newscasters are done doesn't mean the network evening news is.
Back to Jennings for a bit: Tributes from all over, from those on the ABCNews.com message boards to even President Bush, continued to pour in. A woman said that Peter was "my generation's Walter Cronkite", while another viewer stated that "you were immediately captured by his smart, soothing and yet personal voice." It was his Canadian drawl that sucked viewers into his newscast until the end, and Peter Jennings will be sorely missed by millions. A great newsman is now in heaven; will there be anyone like him? Only time will tell.
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