I'm sure by now everyone knows that Peter Jennings passed away yesterday after a battle with lung cancer. He was an icon and an original. He will be sorely missed.
Peter Jennings was the face of news for many people in our generation. He was the final remaining member of the "Three Lions" (Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather), and was the face that many of us remember as the friendly and incisive voice of world events and stateside news.
I vividly remember frantically turning on the television with my husband on 9/11 and seeing his face and hearing his voice as the events unfolded before our eyes. Somehow through the trying and frightening minutes and hours of that fateful day, his voice and face exuded the calm and collected persona we had come to expect from his professional coverage, and we knew that despite the horrifying things we were witnessing, we were not alone in our fear, concern, and anguish. Through the following hours and days we took comfort in seeing him on air, tired and overwrought, but doing his best to keep the public abreast of the situation.
Though this is a memory shared by most people in the U.S. at the moment, my most poignant memory was of the coverage of the memorial for the Challenger astronauts. As the nation watched, we were reminded once again that he was one of us as he choked up seeing President Reagan console the family of one of the crew members, apologizing for his loss of control. Although I know he hated losing his composure on air, I am particularly fond of that side of him-- he made it all right for the rest of us to cry as we watched, and gave us a real feeling of unity in a time so filled with grief.
Though the world will go on, and news will continue, we will always remember the voice of Peter Jennings as one who we welcomed readily into our homes as a trusted member of our extended families, and as one who changed and challenged the news world. Godspeed, and God bless him.
