One Of The Greats, Peter Jennings Dies At Age 67

Jennings was always my favorite anchor. I can't remember why. Maybe it was his touch of Canadian accent (I have a linguist's ear, according to some) that made me think that he was likely not to be an overly partisan American and as a result maybe he was a little more trustworthy than others, in my mind.

That's possible, but the more likely reason was that he was damn good at his job. Not that I had a problem with Tom Brokaw or Dan Rather, but Jennings had a little something extra.

Not just talking heads, anchors in Jennings' vein wrote their copy, edited the video, went on location to sites of world changing news and flew "without a net" during "earth shattering" news like 9/11 or the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now that the "big three" of the last 20 years of the 20th century are no longer on air, those who follow have some mighty big shoes to fill.

When I was growing up, in part, in East Hampton, Long Island, I knew Jennings had a place in Bridgehampton and I think he kept a boat in Sag Harbor. My mother Joanne Grant professed to have something of a crush on Jennings, but then again, he was just another on her list, joining Clark Gable, Peter Falk (or more accurately, detective Columbo) and Roy Scheider, who once kissed her "six times" at a holiday party thrown by a mutual acquaintance. My mother's gone now. She passed away on January 9th of this year. The first thing I thought of when I heard of Jennings' death was how sad she would have been.

Rest in peace, Peter Jennings. You'll be missed.

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Here I'll let other outlets take over. There's no reason for me to repeat other obits.

ABC News
CNN

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Other bloggers weigh in about PJ:

A few thoughts from my friend and colleague Eugene Hernandez who worked at ABC in New York in the 1990's

R.I.P. PETER
The above blog, Out of Focus, has some more interesting thoughts, including a note from the blogger's uncle who worked with Jennings in London.