I am shocked and saddened myself, but I suspect that my reaction pales in comparison to yours. He seemed like a decent man and was a very good anchorman.
I am sorry that he died of that terrible disease which also claimed my father's life. I never did like him much though as an anchorman. Too much of a Lefty for me. But, Rest In Peace Mr. Jennings, and may God bless and comfort those of yours whom you left behind...
Johnny Lingo, I am sad to see him go to. He was to much a lefty for me too but hey, there is always someone waiting to fill the void of biased news that the news syndicate alway has an application on file for. America love it or leave it.
NEW YORK - Peter Jennings, the suave, Canadian-born broadcaster who delivered the news to Americans each night in five separate decades, died Sunday. He was 67.
Jennings, who announced in April that he had lung cancer, died at his New York home, ABC News President David Westin said late Sunday.
"Peter has been our colleague, our friend, and our leader in so many ways. None of us will be the same without him," Westin said.
With Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, Jennings was part of a triumvirate that dominated network news for more than two decades, through the birth of cable news and the Internet. His smooth delivery and years of international reporting experience made him particularly popular among urban dwellers.
Jennings dominated the ratings from the late 1980s to the mid-'90s, when Brokaw surpassed him. He remained a Canadian until 2003, when he became a U.S. citizen, saying it had nothing to do with his politics — he did it for his family.
"He was a warm and loving and surprisingly sentimental man," said Ted Koppel, a longtime friend and fellow anchor.
Jennings deeply regretted not finishing school, and he would have wanted that lesson passed along, Koppel said. He made up for it by becoming a student of the world, studying cultures and their people for the rest of his life.
"No one could ad lib like Peter," said Barbara Walters. "Sometimes he drove me crazy because he knew so many details.
"He just died much too young."
Jennings was the face of ABC News whenever a big story broke. He logged more than 60 hours on the air during the week of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, offering a soothing sense of continuity during a troubled time.
"There are a lot of people who think our job is to reassure the public every night that their home, their community and their nation is safe," he told author Jeff Alan. "I don't subscribe to that at all. I subscribe to leaving people with essentially — sorry it's a cliche — a rough draft of history. Some days it's reassuring, some days it's absolutely destructive."
Jennings' announcement four months ago that the longtime smoker would begin treatment for lung cancer came as a shock.
"I will continue to do the broadcast," he said, his voice husky, in a taped message that night. "On good days, my voice will not always be like this."
But although Jennings occasionally came to the office between chemotherapy treatments, he never again appeared on the air.
"He knew that it was an uphill struggle. But he faced it with realism, courage, and a firm hope that he would be one of the fortunate ones," Westin said. "In the end, he was not."
Broadcasting was the family business for Jennings. His father, Charles Jennings, was the first person to anchor a nightly national news program in Canada and later became head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.'s news division. A picture of his father was displayed prominently in Jennings' office off ABC's newsroom.
Charles Jennings' son had a Saturday morning radio show in Ottawa at age 9. Jennings never completed high school or college, and began his career as a news reporter at a radio station in Brockton, Ontario. He quickly earned an anchor job at Canadian Television.
Sent south to cover the Democratic national convention in 1964, the handsome, dashing correspondent was noticed by ABC's news president. Jennings was offered a reporting job and left Canada for New York.
As the third-place news network, ABC figured its only chance was to go after young viewers. Jennings was picked to anchor the evening news and debuted on Feb. 1, 1965. He was 26.
"It was a little ridiculous when you think about it," Jennings told author Barbara Matusow. "A twenty-six-year-old trying to compete with Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley. I was simply unqualified."
Critics savaged him as a pretty face unfit for the promotion. Using the Canadian pronunciations for some words and once misidentifying the Marine Corps' anthem as "Anchors Aweigh" didn't help his reputation. The experiment ended three years later.
He later described the humbling experience as an opportunity, "because I was obliged to figure out who I was and what I really wanted to be."
Assigned as a foreign correspondent, Jennings thrived. He established an ABC News bureau in Beirut, and became an expert on the Middle East. He won a Peabody Award for a 1974 profile of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
On the scene at the Munich Olympics in 1972, Jennings was perfectly placed to cover the hostage-taking of Israeli athletes by an Arab terrorist group. He and a crew hid in the athletes' quarters for a close-in view of the drama.
Jennings returned to the evening news a decade after his unceremonious departure. In 1978, ABC renamed its broadcast "World News Tonight," and instituted a three-person anchor team: Frank Reynolds based in Washington, Max Robinson from Chicago and Jennings, by then ABC's chief foreign correspondent, from London.
Following Reynolds' death from cancer, ABC abandoned the multi-anchor format and Jennings became sole anchor on Sept. 5, 1983.
Starting in 1986, Jennings began a decade on top of the ratings. His international experience served him well explaining stories like the collapse of European communism, the first Gulf War and the terrorist bombing of an airplane over Lockerbie, Scotland. He took pride that "World News Tonight," as its name suggested, took a more worldly view than its rivals. Fans responded to his smart, controlled style.
"When it's clearly an emotional experience for the audience, the anchor should not add his or her emotional layers," Jennings said in an interview with the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.
Two-thirds of local broadcasters responding to a 1993 survey by Broadcasting & Cable magazine said Jennings was the best network news anchor. Washington Journalism Review named him anchor of the year three straight years.
With Americans looking more inward in the mid to late-1990s, NBC's Tom Brokaw surpassed Jennings in the ratings. ABC was still a close No. 2, however. When Brokaw stepped down in November 2004, followed shortly by Rather, ABC began an advertising campaign stressing Jennings' experience — an ironic twist given how his ABC News career began.
But ABC was never able to learn whether Jennings could take advantage of his role as an elder statesman; his cancer diagnosis came only a month after Rather left the anchor chair.
Jennings was proud of his Canadian citizenship, although it was occasionally a sore point with some critics. When Jennings spoke at the dedication of a museum celebrating the U.S. Constitution in 2003, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told him, "not bad for a Canadian."
Jennings whispered back his secret: He had just passed a test earning him dual citizenship in the United States.
"My decision to do this has nothing to do with politics," Jennings told The Associated Press at the time. "It has nothing to do with my profession. It has everything to do with my family."
Restlessly curious, Jennings pushed ABC News to use the turn of the century for a massive historical study. He co-wrote a book, "The Century," with Todd Brewster and anchored a marathon 25-hour special ending Jan. 1, 2000. Jennings and Brewster also traveled the backroads to write "In Search of America."
Jennings also led a documentary team at ABC News, which struck a chord in 2000 with the high-rated spiritual special "The Search for Jesus."
"I have never spent a day in my adult life where I didn't learn something," Jennings told the Saturday Evening Post. "And if there is a born-again quality to me, that's it."
Like Rather and Brokaw, Jennings wasn't entirely comfortable stuck to a studio. He traveled around the world to cover stories and, when he didn't journey to Asia to cover the aftermath of the tsunami less than four months before his cancer diagnosis, it was noticed.
He is survived by his wife, Kayce Freed, and his two children, Elizabeth, 25, and Christopher, 23.
He could be biased at times, as we can all be. I'm sure I am. He's the one who accused Americans of throwing a temper tantrum in electing a Republican Congress in 1994.
But there's more to him than that, and I really liked his lengthy reports on religion and other issues that ABC was smart enough to air.
Biased? Sure. An outstanding journalist whose contribution was more good than bad? I think so.
He was a little too *left* for me as well, but there is a family that's hurting, cause now they have one less member, and that is where my thoughts are.
I agree... he was too "left" for me, but of all the anchors, he was the one I liked the best. You definately got the sense that he was a good guy. He will be missed.
I too agree with The Highway, "Of all the anchors, he was the one I liked the best." I enjoyed listening to him, to me he explained things very thoroughly, I liked his soften-spoken approach with people and I liked that he never came across as being egotistical. He struck me as being very down to earth.
I'm sure this has to do with American politics, but I've read in a few of the posts "He was too much of a lefty for me." Can someone explain what that means?
Jennings' announcement four months ago that the longtime smoker would begin treatment for lung cancer came as a shock.
It shouldn't really be a shock. Do you still smoke? He was rich and powerful. Probably had the best treatment money could buy. Lots of love from an adoring family, colleagues and friends. Lots of prayers from the public too.
A mere four months of misery and chemo later: dead.
quote:
Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette
Written by Merle Travis and Tex Williams
Now I'm a feller with a heart of gold
And the ways of a gentleman I've been told
The kind of guy that wouldn't even harm a flea
But if me and a certain character met
The guy that invented the cigarette
I'd murder that son-of-a-gun in the first degree
It ain't cuz I don't smoke myself
And I don't reckon that it'll harm your health
Smoked all my life and I ain't dead yet
But nicotine slaves are all the same
At a pettin' party or a poker game
Everything gotta stop while they have a cigarette
Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette
Puff, puff, puff and if you smoke yourself to death
Tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hate to make him wait
But you just gotta have another cigarette
Now in a game of chance the other night
Old Dame Fortune was a-doin' me right
The kings and the queens just kept on comin' round
And I got a full and I bet 'em high
But my bluff didn't work on a certain guy
He just kept on raisin' and layin' that money down
Now he'd raise me and I'd raise him
I sweated blood, gotta sink or swim
He finally called and didn't even raise the bet
So I said "aces full Pops how 'bout you?"
He said "I'll tell you in a minute or two
But right now, I gotta have me a cigarette"
Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette
Puff, puff, puff and if you smoke yourself to death
Tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hates to make him wait
But you just gotta have another cigarette
(Ah, smoke it! Hah! Yes! Yes! Yes!)
The other night I had a date
With the cutest little girl in the United States
A high-bred, uptown, fancy little dame
She loved me and it seemed to me
That things were 'bout like they oughta be
So hand in hand we strolled down lover's lane
She was oh so far from a cake of ice
And our smoochin' party was goin' nice
So help me cats I believe I'd be there yet
But I give her a kiss and a little squeeze
And she said, "ah, Marty, excuse me please
I just gotta have me another, cigarette"
And she said, smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette
Puff, puff, puff and if you smoke yourself to death
Whenever I watched network news, it was Jennings that I most often watched. His in-depth reporting on other things more than offset his sometimes obvious political bias. He will be missed.
Apparently I misunderstood the purpose of this thread. I thought it was started for much the same reason as a thread in the "In Memoriam" Forum: to express our grief, condolences and memories.
Also, if satori was expressing his grief, condolences and memories, then I misunderstood his post.
Here's my very broad generalization of American politics...
Left (left-wing) = Liberal = Democrat
Right (right wing) = Conservative = Republican
The die-hard liberals reputedly think most conservatives are narrow-minded religious zealots who believe in big business and want to control everything with their wealth. Conservatives say they just believe in having strong standards that don't move with every wind of change, and that the smaller the government, the better the opportunities for all Americans to improve themselves.
The die-hard conservatives reputedly think most liberals are socialists-in-training and believe that a one-world-government (with themselves at the helm, of course) is the answer. Liberals say they are open-minded enough to recognize that the world changes, so rules must change with it, and that's the best way to show kindness and serve mankind worldwide.
In my opinion, the truth is somewhere in the middle, and that's the beauty of the American system... the political bodies may swing far one way or far the other way, but ultimately they tend to balance each other out in the long run.
My interpretation of satori's post was anger at the disease that took Peter Jennings. I didn't get the sense that he was saying Jennings asked for it or anything like that, but mocking the attitude of many smokers that it's not really that harmful.
Peter did say that he had smoked a lot and that he had quit 20 years ago, but started back up during 9/11. He was very real about it and very admirable in how he spoke of his plight. It really stinks to lose great people to something that can be so preventable. It hurts to lose people anyway, but especially to something like Cancer.
Congrats on your success, Raf!! :D--> That's awesome!
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LG
I am shocked and saddened myself, but I suspect that my reaction pales in comparison to yours. He seemed like a decent man and was a very good anchorman.
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J0nny Ling0
I am sorry that he died of that terrible disease which also claimed my father's life. I never did like him much though as an anchorman. Too much of a Lefty for me. But, Rest In Peace Mr. Jennings, and may God bless and comfort those of yours whom you left behind...
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fellowshipper
Johnny Lingo, I am sad to see him go to. He was to much a lefty for me too but hey, there is always someone waiting to fill the void of biased news that the news syndicate alway has an application on file for. America love it or leave it.
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dmiller
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Raf
He could be biased at times, as we can all be. I'm sure I am. He's the one who accused Americans of throwing a temper tantrum in electing a Republican Congress in 1994.
But there's more to him than that, and I really liked his lengthy reports on religion and other issues that ABC was smart enough to air.
Biased? Sure. An outstanding journalist whose contribution was more good than bad? I think so.
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dmiller
He was a little too *left* for me as well, but there is a family that's hurting, cause now they have one less member, and that is where my thoughts are.
David
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CoolWaters
I have no words.
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TheHighWay
I agree... he was too "left" for me, but of all the anchors, he was the one I liked the best. You definately got the sense that he was a good guy. He will be missed.
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Cowgirl
I too agree with The Highway, "Of all the anchors, he was the one I liked the best." I enjoyed listening to him, to me he explained things very thoroughly, I liked his soften-spoken approach with people and I liked that he never came across as being egotistical. He struck me as being very down to earth.
I'm sure this has to do with American politics, but I've read in a few of the posts "He was too much of a lefty for me." Can someone explain what that means?
Thanks
Cowgirl
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satori001
From the article:
It shouldn't really be a shock. Do you still smoke? He was rich and powerful. Probably had the best treatment money could buy. Lots of love from an adoring family, colleagues and friends. Lots of prayers from the public too.A mere four months of misery and chemo later: dead.
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CoolWaters
Bad form.
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DaddyHoundog
I don't like it when anybody dies,
:(-->
I hope the good that can come of this is maybe more people will quit earlier or kids won't start smoking....its so sad, smoking can kill!
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Belle
He was by far my favorite anchorman. He will be missed and he leaves a massive hole and huge shoes to be filled.
Tis a sad day indeed.
:(-->
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Goey
Whenever I watched network news, it was Jennings that I most often watched. His in-depth reporting on other things more than offset his sometimes obvious political bias. He will be missed.
Goodbye Mr. Jennings - Job well done.
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hiway29
The only way to satisfy some in here would be to have Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity broadcast the news. Or just watch Fox news.
Sometimes I forget that most in here came out of the way which was beyond right wing.
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def59
Peter Jennings was a good newsman and professionally I respected him.
He was flawless during the 9/11 coverage as he was during most tragedies.
Philosophically, I know I disagreed with him.
but he stands as testimony that a piece paper should not block someone from getting to the top.
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satori001
http://quitsmoking.about.com/b/a/110425.htm
Peter Jennings on smoking related deaths, a year ago.
http://roswell.tobaccodocuments.org/hall_of_shame.htm
By the way, Jennings quit smoking several years ago.
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Raf
I don't think satori's post was bad form. I think Jennings would have wanted it. Maybe I'm naive, I don't know.
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CoolWaters
Apparently I misunderstood the purpose of this thread. I thought it was started for much the same reason as a thread in the "In Memoriam" Forum: to express our grief, condolences and memories.
Also, if satori was expressing his grief, condolences and memories, then I misunderstood his post.
My bad (as usual, huh?).
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TheHighWay
Cowgirl,
Here's my very broad generalization of American politics...
Left (left-wing) = Liberal = Democrat
Right (right wing) = Conservative = Republican
The die-hard liberals reputedly think most conservatives are narrow-minded religious zealots who believe in big business and want to control everything with their wealth. Conservatives say they just believe in having strong standards that don't move with every wind of change, and that the smaller the government, the better the opportunities for all Americans to improve themselves.
The die-hard conservatives reputedly think most liberals are socialists-in-training and believe that a one-world-government (with themselves at the helm, of course) is the answer. Liberals say they are open-minded enough to recognize that the world changes, so rules must change with it, and that's the best way to show kindness and serve mankind worldwide.
In my opinion, the truth is somewhere in the middle, and that's the beauty of the American system... the political bodies may swing far one way or far the other way, but ultimately they tend to balance each other out in the long run.
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Raf
CW,
My interpretation of satori's post was anger at the disease that took Peter Jennings. I didn't get the sense that he was saying Jennings asked for it or anything like that, but mocking the attitude of many smokers that it's not really that harmful.
Two months clean,
Raf
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Belle
Peter did say that he had smoked a lot and that he had quit 20 years ago, but started back up during 9/11. He was very real about it and very admirable in how he spoke of his plight. It really stinks to lose great people to something that can be so preventable. It hurts to lose people anyway, but especially to something like Cancer.
Congrats on your success, Raf!!
:D--> That's awesome!
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CoolWaters
TY Raf.
It's been a chill pill day for me. I'm sorry I spewed it all over the place here.
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J0nny Ling0
Aww, that's okay Cool. From what I know of you, you are fine person, and an Alaskan!
Now when it comes to smoking, I prefer to smoke Sockeye! Yeah baby yeah!
Hey Cool Waters, check your PT's, I want to run something by you...
Jonny
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