R.I.P Peter Jennings (1938-2005)

[SecretMaster]

It's such a shame really. He is the only real news anchorman that I can actually remember throughout most of my life. A brilliant man and it is a shame he passed away so soon. News broadcasting won't be the same without him.

"The death Sunday of ABC anchor Peter Jennings leaves a big void in broadcast news, which in just nine months has lost all three iconic anchors who had brought the news to millions of Americans for more than two decades.

Jennings was the last of the Big Three anchors in an era of shrinking broadcast audiences who have cable, satellite radio and Internet news and entertainment options all vying for their attention.

But like his longtime competitors Tom Brokaw at NBC and Dan Rather at CBS, Jennings had enough influence within ABC News to push for serious, in-depth stories and coverage of world events that mattered to him and that he felt viewers needed to know about — whether they realized it or not.

And that's something viewers might never see again.

The Big Three anchors "used their extraordinary power to fight for serious and important stories," says CBS News president Andrew Heyward. "And in a business that has tended toward the trivial or tabloid, there's a risk that if the next generation of anchors doesn't have the clout, that it'll be up to a combination of them and their producers to lobby corporate higher-ups for reporting of serious journalism."

Jennings' death also probably signals the end of an era in broadcast news in which anchors spoke with the "voice of God" authority to viewers.

That method of news delivery could become passé in the new cable TV/broadband universe. Interactive technology puts news consumers and providers on a more equal footing, which has captured the interest of the younger generation of Americans.

This, coupled with changing lifestyles, has some media observers predicting that a dinnertime broadcast is on the verge of becoming anachronistic.

"Network news will still play an incredibly important role in this country, but the world that Peter, Tom and Dan began covering 25 years ago isn't the same world today," NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker said Monday. "Technology, lifestyle and what constitutes news have all changed dramatically. I'm not saying that it is better or worse. I'm just saying that it's reality."

Brian Williams, anchor of NBC Nightly News, says he and others in network news are prepared for change.

"If cell phones are the new outlet for news, we're there. If it's computer screens, we're there," Williams says. "I know there are changing habits, but they'll come around to us."

Bob Zelnick, a former ABC News Pentagon correspondent who teaches journalism at Boston University, says: "My sense is that the network news should continue to play an important though diminished role in bringing information to people. After all, a combined audience of 29 million viewers is still many times the numbers cable is producing."

In fact, network news viewership is often 10 times the average viewership of cable news.

But the "icon phenomenon is history," says Tom McPhail, a communications professor at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. "No network wants a news giant who has power over the lineups and holds the chair for decades. They were expensive and were treated as royalty both on and off the sets, in a long era with declining market share to cable."

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=126542 (A full history of Jennings)

[Dalamar Stormcrow]

LOL. Peter Jennings got pwned by cigarettes. I really can't feel sorry for any moron who smokes and dies from it. The dangers of smoking are very clear.

[ 08-12-2005, 11:12 PM: Message edited by: Dalamar Stormcrow ]

[Zebodog]

Unfortunately the dangers of smoking were not that widely known back when he did start smoking. I do believe he quit in the 1980's but then started again on 9/11.

Next time show some respect for the deceased you little shit.

[Spirits Reborn]

this sucks. i've known about it.. but seriously. that guy was an example that you don't need a degree to succeed. it really is a shame.

Dalamar stormcrow, smoking doesn't really define a person, even a good person can smoke/drugs/acohol.. Those things are all known to harm, but yet there are people who use them, that doesn't make them a moron or anything, sure they made a bad desicion, but are you saying you've never made a mistake? a bad desicion? so don't just judge a person because of that.

[Larry_OHF]

What Dalamar Stormcrow said was harsh and maybe over the top for this situation, but it does not warrent someone else making a personal attack and calling him a little shit.

Zebodog, find another way to express your disconent for what others have said, much like Spirits Reborn did.

This is an official warning.

Terms of Service Be Clean: Adhere to decency and refrain from abusive or hateful language, while cussing isn't censored, please don't direct the words towards someone in a hateful or demeaning way. Cussing 'just to be cussing' will land you with an account suspension if it becomes too much. Also, don't put an expletive in the title of your post. It will be deleted. While in a debate, or have a difference of opinion, please do not take it as an attack. We will close accounts of people that attack others, be it in a subtle way, or a deliberate loud way.

[DBear]

Nope, we'll never see the likes of the Big Three again. It's a Blog New World out there...

[Zebodog]

Dalamar Stormcrow,

I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have verbally asaulted you, regardless of how I felt about your post.

I'm sorry.

[Mouse]

Originally posted by Zebodog: Dalamar Stormcrow, I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have verbally asaulted you, regardless of how I felt about your post. I'm sorry.

It takes a fair degree of courage to own up to misdemeanors and aplologise for them in public.

Let this be an end to it [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[krunchyfrogg]

Anybody else find it mildly amusing that Larry used profanity when scolding someone for ripping on another poster?

(just ribbing you Lar!)


He will be missed, and was defnintely an influence on generations of reporters across the country.

[Grojlach]

Originally posted by Larry_OHF: What Dalamar Stormcrow said was harsh and maybe over the top for this situation, but it does not warrent someone else making a personal attack and calling him a little shit.

Wait, what? Dalamar wasn't even warned for his far worse and downright disrespectful comment? I honestly thought he was trying to bait the mods into getting himself banned or something, and that's why I didn't bother feeding the troll earlier on*. But seriously, I can only second Zebodog's assessment of Dalamar's attitude, how undiplomatic it may be.
Oh, and I'm not trying to undermine your authority, Larry; you're doing a great job overall, and I agree with the reprimand you did give. Sorry if it feels like backseat-modding or a personal reproach - I'm just surprised, that's all. [img]smile.gif[/img]

* Note that I don't smoke nor ever did, so it's not from that angle that I thought Dalamar's remark was out of line.

More on-topic: Being only slightly familiar with American News Networks, I mostly remember Peter Jennings from his cameos and interviews on the Daily Show. He seemed like a level-headed, reasonable and smart guy, and from what I can gather, his death certainly is a loss for not just his family and friends. May he rest in peace.

[ 08-12-2005, 06:08 PM: Message edited by: Grojlach ]