Peter Jennings was a popular reporter and anchor for ABC Nightly News from the 1980s until his death in 2005. He was known for his liberal views, cultured voice, and extensive news coverage. Jennings started his career in Canada and gained attention for his coverage of the civil rights movement in the US. He became America’s youngest network anchor at age 26 but was fired after three years due to criticism of his Canadian accent and youth. He continued to work as a foreign correspondent and eventually became the sole anchor for ABC’s World News Tonight until his death from lung cancer. Jennings received numerous journalism awards and was honored with a street named after him in New York City.
Peter Jennings was one of the most popular reporters from the 1980s until his death in 2005. He hosted ABC Nightly News during this time. He was known for a slightly liberal bent, a clipped “cultured” voice, and his ability to devote significant air time when circumstances around the world demanded extensive news coverage. Peter Jennings spent over 60 hours on the air in the week following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and worked 16 hours straight on the same day.
Peter Jennings was a Canadian, who received dual citizenship only in 2003. He was born in 1939 in Ontario. His father, Charles Jennings, was the anchor for the Canadian Broadcast Company (CBC). His experience watching his father made Peter Jennings one of the best self-made anchors in the news world. He never finished high school and never graduated from college, although he was accepted into Carleton University in Ottawa.
When Peter Jennings was nine, he hosted his own 30-minute children’s show, Peter’s People on the CBC. He also enjoyed acting and appeared in several amateur stage productions of musicals during his teens and early 20s. He also hosted a Canadian version of American Bandstand for a short time.
CTV, a rival to CBC, hired Peter Jennings for his first “real” reporting job. He quickly gained the attention of American news stations during his 1964 coverage of the civil rights movement in the United States. ABC offered Peter Jennings a position as a correspondent, which he eagerly accepted.
At age 26, Peter Jennings made television history as America’s youngest network anchor, hosting the Peter Jennings program with The News. At first he was not popular and his anchoring period lasted only 3 years. Peter Jennings was criticized for his Canadian accent, which differed from the traditional news intonation that other key anchors so easily mastered. Even his youth was considered a defect rather than an asset.
Although fired as host, Peter Jennings still wanted to work with ABC and continued to work as a foreign correspondent during a number of key events in world history. Peter Jennings was stationed in the Middle East. He is identified as a key reporter of the assassination of Israeli Olympians by Palestinians in 1972 in Munich. His time in the Middle East led him to hold to the unpopular view in the United States that Americans should support a Palestinian state.
With public opinion now largely compliant with Peter Jennings, ABC offered him a co-anchor position in 1978. In 1983, he would become the sole anchor for ABC’s World News Tonight, which would continue until shortly before of his death in 2005. Members of conservative groups still often accused him of liberal bias, and President George W. Bush declined an interview with Jennings after his election in 2000.
Peter Jennings had his last newscast in April of 2005, where he revealed to his audience that he was suffering from lung cancer. He remained optimistic about his chances of beating the disease, but unfortunately succumbed to the disease in August of 2005. Peter Jennings had fought a lifelong battle with cigarette addiction, which he was never able to quit entirely. . His passing was much lamented by his fans and fellow journalists.
During his lifetime, Peter Jennings amassed numerous journalism awards. He has received 14 Emmys and 2 Peabody Awards. He was also awarded the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and the Fred Friendly First Amendment Award in 2001. Shortly after his death, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City designated part of 66th Street as Peter Jennings Way , in recognition of Jennings. ‘ extraordinary contributions to journalism.
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