'Peter Jennings: A Reporter’s Life'
The face of ABC News. The next Walter Cronkite. The quintessential, trench-coat-wearing foreign correspondent. Peter Jennings embodied all of those roles, and yet none of them sums him up entirely. This Canadian newscaster imbued American journalism with the presence of a striking personality and an unforgettable professionalism during his 41 years working for ABC.
In the first few days following his death in 2005, a group of 81 friends, family members, coworkers, and acquaintances collaborated and gave voice to what they saw in Peter’s life that made him truly remarkable. Their comments initially led to a two-hour tribute aired on ABC News—and, more than a year later, turned into a book titled Peter Jennings: A Reporter’s Life.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1938, Peter spent his early years with his parents, Elizabeth and Charles, and his younger sister, Sarah, in Canada. Although a notably mischievous boy, Peter always greatly admired his father, who was not only a well-known radio broadcaster working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), but was also, in Peter’s own words, his “only hero.” Out of sheer boredom, Peter dropped out of high school and began his career early at two small radio stations in Canada. In 1960 he worked briefly for CBC on the radio, switched to television the next year, and then got a position at CTV, Canada’s first private television network, in 1962 as a co-anchor of the nightly national news.
Trying to impress his father while refusing to ride in the wake of his father’s fame, Peter caught ABC’s gaze in 1964. Elmer Lower, former president of ABC News, recalled recruiting the 24-year-old Peter: “He looked pretty young. We were looking for anybody with any kind of promise at all at that time.” Six months after visiting New York and hearing Lower’s offer, Peter finally accepted the position as a reporter at ABC. Peter once said of his move to the U.S., “I am one of those Canadians who went to the United States because it was irresistible.” Half a year later, Peter became the anchor of ABC’s nightly newscast—and thus America’s youngest anchor in network television history. His charm clashed with his inexperience as seasoned anchors from rival stations, Cronkite (CBS) and Huntley and Brinkley (NBC), created such a stark contrast between their performance and his.
With his characteristic gracefulness, Peter left his post as anchor in 1967 and flourished “back in the trenches” as a foreign correspondent. His job took him near and far—Moscow, Vietnam, and Saigon, just to start—but his new station in Beirut put him in charge of covering the entire Middle East. In the eyes of Bill Blakemore, recruited by Peter in Beirut as a soundman and subsequently posted in New York under ABC, “Peter was coming overseas to get experience. The Middle East brought him alive. He saw the opportunity in it. He loved the story.” Peter established ABC’s presence in the Arab world, intimately acquainting himself with each of the 19 countries in the Middle East. He delved deep into the issues he covered and maintained a sense of fairness, simplicity, and relatability in his reporting.
In 1972 Peter received an assignment from ABC Sports head Roone Arledge to go to the Olympic Games in Munich, unknowingly opening a door to show the world his expertise in reporting. A Palestinian terrorist group, which Peter correctly identified as Black September, took Israeli Olympians hostage, and Peter proved to be the only reporter able to cover the action live—and to cover it extremely well. The happenings at Munich led to Peter’s eventual promotion from chief foreign correspondent to news anchor, as well as Arledge’s boost to president of ABC News in ‘77.
Stationed in London, Peter joined two other ABC anchors, Frank Reynolds in Washington and Max Robinson in Chicago, to deliver World News Tonight, which debuted midway through 1978. For the cause of an international news story, Peter often “took the anchor desk on the road” in order to “pursue his first love: reporting from the scene.” His colleagues remembered Peter’s incessant reading, insatiable curiosity, strong work ethic, and concise, people-focused storytelling. Pete Simmons, an ABC producer in the ‘70s, praised Peter’s “absolute control of every story” he touched: “He knew the people involved, he knew the ramifications, he knew the history of it…[W]herever you went with him, he knew the ground he was covering.”
In 1983, after Reynolds died of cancer, Peter returned to America to take his seat as sole anchor of World News Tonight. The new position required flexibility and much adjustment from Peter, who needed the word “lieutenant” spelled with “LOO” on the teleprompter to fight his inclination to say “leftenant.” Ever learning, Peter took on the 1984 presidential campaign alongside political expert David Brinkley. Then on January 25, 1986, Peter responded to the Challenger crisis “with characteristic calm and dedication.” Staying at his desk for eleven hours straight, he displayed composure and revealed—as he did time and time again (such as on 9/11) —that he could perform excellently under pressure.
Peter carried great influence in the newsroom. His friends knew him as a scrupulous editor who eagerly prodded them on towards perfection. ABC colleague Barrie Dunsmore said Peter had an amazing desire to “get the story and get it right,” along with nuances to distinguish it and make it palatable for the public. Many also saw him as an advocate of “stories that mattered” (especially international ones). Jonathan Alter, senior editor and columnist for Newsweek, said a great sign of respect to Peter would be “to stay focused on reporting a larger share of foreign news, even if it doesn’t get ratings.” Peter tackled the important issues, regardless of previous or predicted interest in the topics; he dealt with AIDS before it became a hot topic, he addressed tobacco and public health, and he treated religion wisely and adventurously (even to the extent of making a two-hour-long special on Jesus).
Peter also carried great influence outside of the newsroom. He cherished his time with his wife, Kayce, and absolutely adored his two children, Elizabeth and Christopher. He was present in his local New York community, making friends with the homeless as he walked his dog in Central Park and volunteered in food ministries. His heart was open to everyone—as much to the president of Egypt as to a taxi driver named Khut, as much to any given airplane passenger as to any of the fans who recognized him at a restaurant. Peter was always ready to talk, and listen, to everyone he would meet, and he would allot time and certain programs to children, valuing their voice as well.
Near the end of his life, in 2003, Peter became an American citizen (one who carried around a copy of the Constitution in his pocket). He once said, “People come to America with a strong sense of where they came from… But I think the sense of the future is just overwhelmingly powerful. That’s a very, very beautiful thing.”
In April 2005, Peter shared with millions of viewers that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He showed incredible strength up until his death on August 7, 2005. President Bill Clinton remarked, “I think the way [Peter] talked to us about the world will be his enduring legacy.” Peter Jennings left behind a trail of journalistic brilliance and personal charisma that millions still hold dear. “I would say he lived for excellence as a friend, as a father, as a journalist, as a man,” Charles Glass, a longtime friend and colleague at ABC, said. “He was a permanent reminder not of what we are but what we as journalists have a duty to be.”