Peter Jennings is dead.
Of the big three anchors, he was always my first choice. Whether it was watching coverage of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, 9-11, any election night over the past 20 years, or just a normal news day, Peter Jennings was a man I trusted to tell me the news.
He was the type of news anchor I wanted to be. His mannerisms, his tone, his ‘quick look down at the script as he changed stories and of course his credibility.
There is an entire generation of college age-kids who never had another ABC news anchor in their lifetime. He was smooth, credible and very professional. I felt as I watched him describe our world every night that he was giving me the straight story.
My favorite Peter Jennings story was from 1992 or 93 when he successfully campaigned for a full-time religion reporter for the network. He produced and hosted a special report then on Religion in America, and it was fantastic. I heard stories then that Peter Jennings had been moved by what he experienced and came to know Christ. I pray it was true.
I had the opportunity to meet Peter Jennings and even sit down next to him at his anchor desk in New York. I was working for an ABC affiliate and the local folks wanted the anchor team to sit down with Peter Jennings and do news promos. Remember those kinds of promos? Anyway, I remember he adlibbed the promos (he probably had done a few hundred of them with other stations) and he dismissed some with a laugh saying he thought he sounded like an FM DJ. I also remember he smoked quite a bit and the brand he smoked was Parliment. That was in 1985 so he probably quit smoking not long after that. I also remember he took time to ask about our careers and engage in a little small talk to help make us feel more comfortable. I thought he was a class act before meeting him and my opinion only grew. I always considered him the “go to” guy of the network anchors. I don’t think we’ll see another one like Peter Jennings.
Hello bearded joe… Just wanted to say hello. I wish I had some kind of contact info on you (email etc.) so I can chat with you. In case you were wondering who I am, just think “Desert Eagle”. Until next time!
Hey Desert Eagle,
As you might appreciate, I’m a little reluctant to give personal information out over a blog. However, Rachel at 3 has my contact information and she should be willing to share, to some degree anyway.
Give her a shout and then give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you before I have to get back to the grind.