THE BELGRAVIA DISPATCH: Peter Jennings, RIP

August 08, 2005

Peter Jennings, RIP

Peter Jennings died tonight of lung cancer. Jennings was my favorite anchor, and while I didn't watch his broadcast regularly (it was too early to catch given work schedules), I always thought of him as the best of the lot. This is likely not surprising, given that Jennings was more interested in foreign affairs, it's probably fair to say, than Brokaw or Rather or many of the mediocrities that pass for anchors on CNN or Fox today. I also had the chance to meet Jennings in his offices in New York after graduating college. I was thinking of a career in journalism, and was somehow able to get a meeting with him to gets some tips and pointers. While I ended up doing humanitarian work in the Balkans and then going down the well worn path to law school, it was of course generous for him to share a few minutes with me, and he was obviously a man in love with his craft and career. The kind of journalism and anchoring that Jennings did--intellectually honest and judicious, delivered with a steely calm (rather than the shrill hysterics or 'emo-anchoring' now in vogue) appears a dying breed today. Ditto the extensive focus on international news--as today so many overseas news bureaus are being shut down and fewer correspondents are based abroad. This is a shame not least because--just as much if not more than during the Cold War--developments in regions like the Middle East and Asia will be major determinants on our lives at home. And, alas, there are fewer people around capable of explaining these developments to us today in sober, cogent fashion like Peter Jennings could. He will be missed by many.

Posted by Gregory at August 8, 2005 05:29 AM | TrackBack (0)

Comments

Greg - does it not concern you that the majority of your readership probably has nothing but raw contempt for the "liberal media" and anybody associated with it? Is there a place for "intellectually honest and judicious" journalists among today's conservatives?

Posted by: Mads Kvalsvik at August 8, 2005 05:09 PM | Permalink to this comment

I was thinking when I heard of Jennings' passing, how many television journalists have used him as a model to emulate?

I don't know the answer to that question. One would think that at ABC if nowhere else there would be plenty, but I've seen enough of the on-air talent there to wonder. Jennings, as Greg says, was more into foreign affairs than some television journalists, and was also less given to really pushing emotional, "inspirational" stories as so many of them -- I have to say especially the female ones -- are today. He was probably the best-liked of the big 3 network anchors; someone more familiar with the business than I am will have to say whether he was merely the product of an earlier age or a journalist who left a more substantial legacy.

Posted by: JEB at August 8, 2005 05:20 PM | Permalink to this comment

I almost started this comment by saying yeah and Moe was the smartest of The Three Stooges, too, but on reflection I agree he did try harder to be fair than the other two. That's why his occasional outbursts, like saying the 1994 elections were a temper tantrum for angry white males, really revealed how totally out of step the MSM was and is.

Posted by: wayne at August 8, 2005 09:37 PM | Permalink to this comment

What are you talking about? Jennings was anti-American and openly anti-Israel too.See Frontpagemagazine.com for details. Anyone who was really watching this guy"s act shouldn't have to be told, Jennings was no journalist. He was a liberal, partisan guy with a definite ax to grind. A journalist,-even a t.v. anchor-should not be pushing his own agenda.

Posted by: howard at August 12, 2005 01:56 AM | Permalink to this comment

	« Saudi Re-Shuffles \| Main \| Iraq Troop Levels » August 08, 2005 Peter Jennings, RIP Peter Jennings died tonight of lung cancer. Jennings was my favorite anchor, and while I didn't watch his broadcast regularly (it was too early to catch given work schedules), I always thought of him as the best of the lot. This is likely not surprising, given that Jennings was more interested in foreign affairs, it's probably fair to say, than Brokaw or Rather or many of the mediocrities that pass for anchors on CNN or Fox today. I also had the chance to meet Jennings in his offices in New York after graduating college. I was thinking of a career in journalism, and was somehow able to get a meeting with him to gets some tips and pointers. While I ended up doing humanitarian work in the Balkans and then going down the well worn path to law school, it was of course generous for him to share a few minutes with me, and he was obviously a man in love with his craft and career. The kind of journalism and anchoring that Jennings did--intellectually honest and judicious, delivered with a steely calm (rather than the shrill hysterics or 'emo-anchoring' now in vogue) appears a dying breed today. Ditto the extensive focus on international news--as today so many overseas news bureaus are being shut down and fewer correspondents are based abroad. This is a shame not least because--just as much if not more than during the Cold War--developments in regions like the Middle East and Asia will be major determinants on our lives at home. And, alas, there are fewer people around capable of explaining these developments to us today in sober, cogent fashion like Peter Jennings could. He will be missed by many. Posted by Gregory at August 8, 2005 05:29 AM \| TrackBack (0) Comments Greg - does it not concern you that the majority of your readership probably has nothing but raw contempt for the "liberal media" and anybody associated with it? Is there a place for "intellectually honest and judicious" journalists among today's conservatives? Posted by: Mads Kvalsvik at August 8, 2005 05:09 PM \| Permalink to this comment I was thinking when I heard of Jennings' passing, how many television journalists have used him as a model to emulate? I don't know the answer to that question. One would think that at ABC if nowhere else there would be plenty, but I've seen enough of the on-air talent there to wonder. Jennings, as Greg says, was more into foreign affairs than some television journalists, and was also less given to really pushing emotional, "inspirational" stories as so many of them -- I have to say especially the female ones -- are today. He was probably the best-liked of the big 3 network anchors; someone more familiar with the business than I am will have to say whether he was merely the product of an earlier age or a journalist who left a more substantial legacy. Posted by: JEB at August 8, 2005 05:20 PM \| Permalink to this comment I almost started this comment by saying yeah and Moe was the smartest of The Three Stooges, too, but on reflection I agree he did try harder to be fair than the other two. That's why his occasional outbursts, like saying the 1994 elections were a temper tantrum for angry white males, really revealed how totally out of step the MSM was and is. Posted by: wayne at August 8, 2005 09:37 PM \| Permalink to this comment What are you talking about? Jennings was anti-American and openly anti-Israel too.See Frontpagemagazine.com for details. Anyone who was really watching this guy"s act shouldn't have to be told, Jennings was no journalist. He was a liberal, partisan guy with a definite ax to grind. A journalist,-even a t.v. anchor-should not be pushing his own agenda. Posted by: howard at August 12, 2005 01:56 AM \| Permalink to this comment		Reviews of Belgravia Dispatch "Best 9/11 Commentary" "Always-Worth Reading" --Andrew Sullivan "Awake" --New York Times "Must-read list" --Washington Times "Pompous Ass" --an anonymous blogospheric commenter Recent Entries UPDATE: Comments re-enabled. Thanks! The UBL Tape In-House Note Wanted: More Troops Questions Re: a Post-Sharon Israel Zbigniew Brzezinski Speaks The Former Secretaries Meet POTUS DeLay Steps Aside The Rancid Stench of L'affaire Abramoff The End of the Sharon Era? Search Search this site: Advanced Search About the Author Email the Author English Language Media New York Times Financial Times The Economist The Times The Spectator Daily Telegraph The New Yorker Washington Post New Criterion Washington Monthly New Republic National Review The Atlantic Harpers The Guardian Weekly Standard The Nation WSJ Opinion Real Clear Politics Foreign Affairs Commentariat Foreign Affairs Foreign Policy Le Monde Diplomatique National Interest Non-English Language Press Le Figaro Le Monde El Pais Pravda U.S. Blogs Andrew Sullivan Instapundit Mickey Kaus Josh Marshall Oxblog Katrina vanden Heuvel Armavirumque Daniel Drezner Kevin Drum Romenesko James Taranto Volokh Conspiracy &C (TNR) The Corner Laura Rozen Innocents Abroad Juan Cole Tom Maguire Matthew Yglesias Chequer-Board Spencer Ackerman Wonkette Brad DeLong The American Scene Eric Martin Mark Kleiman Winds of Change Jon Henke American Footprints Steve Clemons Jack Balkin Cunning Realist Democracy Arsensal Crooked Timber Austin Bay Becker-Posner James Wolcott UN Dispatch Matt Drudge Phil Carter Clive Davis Obsidian Wings Bainbridge America Abroad Red State Huffington Post The Plank Nikolas Gvosdev Times Watch Mitchell Report Columnists Tony Blankley David Broder David Brooks Roger Cohen Maureen Dowd Fred Hiatt Jackson Diehl Thomas Friedman Bob Herbert Jim Hoagland Richard Holbrooke David Ignatius Robert Kagan Michael Kinsley Charles Krauthammer Nicholas Kristof Paul Krugman Robert Novak Mark Steyn Sebastian Mallaby Frank Rich John Tierney John Vinocur George Will Anne Applebaum The Reliable Source Washington Whispers Howard Kurtz Think Tanks AEI Baker Institute Brookings Carnegie Cato CFR CSIS Heritage IISS Intl Crisis Group USIP Law & Finance Barron's Bloomberg Bruce MacEwen Bull and Bear Wise CBS Marketwatch Contrary Investor Corporate Counsel Blog Corp Law Blog D.C. Toedt Deal Lawyers Blog Financial Sense Forbes Fortune Hussman Funds Gretchen Morgenson Floyd Norris Safe Haven SCOTUS Blog The Street 10b-5 Daily Yahoo Finance Security Janes Fed. American Scientists Defense Tech Global Security Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Books LRB NYRB NYT Book Review Paris Review TLS Granta Grand Street The City Curbed Gawker Lockhart Steele NY Magazine Nick Denton NY Post NY Press New York Observer Tribeca Trib Walk Through Village Voice Western Europe Eursoc Fistful of Euros France Ceteris Paribus L'Ombre de l'Olivier United Kingdom Samizdata Germany Davids Medienkritik Italy 1972 JimMomo Ideazione Walking Class Netherlands Peaktalk Spain Barcepundit Iberian Notes Central and Eastern Europe CIS/FSU Registan Russia JRL Moscow Times Scraps of Moscow Siberian Light The Russian Dilettante Armenia Blogrel East Asia Howard French China Simon World Danwei China Matters Peking Duck ESWN Japan South Korea Marmot Middle East Egypt Baheyya Arabist Big Pharaoh Israel The Head Heeb Lebanon Across the Bay Lebanese Blogger Lebanese Abroad Lebanon Matters Lebop Bliss Street Journal American in Lebanon Beirut Spring For Lebanon Syria Amarji Josh Landis Syria Exposed B.D. In the Press The Sunday Times(UK)"If It Makes America Look Bad It Must Be True, Musn't It?" The Guardian "Trial and Error" Online Journalism Review "Feeling Misquoted? Weblogs Transcripts Let the Reader Decide" Online Journalism Review "Bloggers Rate the Most Influential Blogs" (see chart) The Sunday Times (UK) "Rise of the Virtual Soapbox" MORE" Archives January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 Categories Area Studies Beltway Banter Books Department Cultural Missives Euro-American Relations In-House News Iraq Legal Matters Mailroom Media Monitoring Middle East--Iran Middle East-Peace Process Philosophy Presidential Politics Terrorism U.S. Foreign Policy Syndicate this site: Powered by

	© 2004 Belgravia Dispatch