Peter Jennings RIP

Peter Jennings could have been a leading man. He could have written books, or perhaps made a living as a "handsome man" trading on his looks, in whatever he career he chose. But he left high school in the 10th grade and pursued one of man's higher callings, journalism. And it was as the voice and face of ABC news for all these years, that we remember and mourn him today.

His mind was a swift one. Filing reports from throughout the world was his education. His first round as anchor of the ABC Evening News was at the age of 25. ABC News was even younger then he in those days, when the broadcast was 15 minutes long, and the network was often deemed fourth in a three way race.
But from the very beginning viewers saw past the good looks, elegant style, and natural delivery. He had those, plus the often overused word, but appropriate here, gravitas. He knew of what he spoke. Physicality will get you so far in the broadcast news business. It will not get you the respect that Peter Jennings had from his peers and from his viewers.

The television news landscape has changed greatly these past few years. Cable news, along with the internet has made the business quite unlike it was only 20 years ago. But class, and that word again, gravitas, are eternal. And Peter Jennings will be remembered for a long time as a gentleman broadcaster, who also "had the goods". He was above all a newsman who understood that the news was one of the most vital and serious aspects in the safeguarding of a free society.

RIP Peter Jennings



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