Peter Jennings - R.I.P.

[Lois Gilbert]

The ABC news anchor Peter Jennings passed from the world today. I put this in Speakout because Peter was such an advocate and special friend of jazz and jazz musicians such as the Heath Brothers, Clark Terry, Milt Jackson and the list goes on. He was a sensitive and thoughtful gentleman, and he will be missed by the media and especially his jazz friends.

[BFrank]

I had no idea he was a jazz fan.

RIP Peter.

[Enforcer]

Really sad news. I always liked him. I liked the way he conducted himself on the air. A professional for sure, but he also had a calm, reassuring way about him that the other anchors didn't quite match.

RIP, Peter Jennings.

[Ron Thorne]

What a shame. He was a class act in every respect. And, a sharp dresser with a sense of style. His resonant voice was as smooth as silk, too.



He'll be sorely missed by millions.

R.I.P., Peter Jennings~

[Gentle Giant]

He seemed to understand that he was only a news anchor, and that the people he covered were more important than he was. I respected his integrity and demeanor.

He had already been missed, now more so.

[Valerie]

Yes, Mr. Jennings will truly be missed. It is mind-boggling that he had dropped out of school in the 10th grade. Who ever would have thunk it?!? Barbara Walters said it "annoyed" her that he always had so many details and information about "everything"!


RIP, Mr. Jennings.

[jazzy mary]

Peter Jennings was a jazz fan! Every year he would host htis huge fund raiser in NYC for this charity--darn, I can't remember what the name of it is now--but it's one that helps jazz musicians and their families deal w/ addiction. Doris Parker was involved with it too. Lois, do you recall the name of the organization?

At any rate, I went one year and Peter was hosting it and he was really the one who got all these corporations to step up and put their $ down on a table.

He was a great guy! His passing is very sad.

BTW, Ed Bradley is a big jazz fan too. I met him once at one of Jimmy Scott's gigs.

[GoodSpeak]

A huge loss to legitimate news reporting.

A boon for Liberal haters.


The man will not be forgotten....but he will be missed.


Peter Jennings 1938-2005



Rest in Peace, Peter.

Originally Posted by GoodSpeak

A huge loss to legitimate news reporting.
.

You've got to be kidding.
TV news is worthless.
Jennings hosted an ABC News Special on UFO's earlier this year.
That's about all you need to know.


Plus, there's already a thread in SpeakOut devoted to remembering this great supporter of jazz.

[lynn]

This is really sad news. Boggles the mind to think who is out there to take the place of folks like Mr. Jennings. Although I never met him personally, I was very impressed with his coverage of the OKC bombings. I met Tom Brokaw who was anchor for NBC, which was my affiliate network.

[GoodSpeak]

Just like you to crush a memory.




I am sorry for you.

[jesus marion joseph]

Sad stuff. I wasn't aware that he was a jazz philanthropist, or that he broke into the news game at such a young age. I was aware that he was a Canadian and a high school dropout. Makes his achievements in reporting seem even more remarkable.

Which memory did I crush, Goodie?
Aw, I'm sorry for me too.

[crawjo]

Peter Jennings was the best of the big three anchors, I always thought. He had this sort of disarming, casual, let's-just-sit-down-and-have-a-chat-about-the-day's-events way about him that worked well on television.

[lynn]

There was a repeat today of an interview on Fresh Air the he did in 1998. Made my commute home rather somber. He had an unbelievable career.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4790224

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by crawjo

Peter Jennings was the best of the big three anchors, I always thought. He had this sort of disarming, casual, let's-just-sit-down-and-have-a-chat-about-the-day's-events way about him that worked well on television.

Exactly.


I was watching on TV today and an e-mail which was sent to him called him the "wagon master who help us feel calm".



How appropriate.

Originally Posted by GoodSpeak

I was watching on TV today and an e-mail which was sent to him called him the "wagon master who help us feel calm".

.

I'm sorry, Goodie, but what the fuck does that mean? The wagon master who help (sic) us feel calm?

Captain Hate, you getting this?

[patricia]

Peter Jennings was a class act in a field of poseurs. He was not just a pretty face talking head. He had been a serious journalist since he was in his early twenties and his first experience on television was as host of his own show, "Peter's People" on CBC television in Canada when he was nine years old.
He was well-travelled, knowledgeable and articulate.
Achilles, Peter Jennings and two other Canadian journalists with whom you may not be familiar, Arthur Kent, who is still alive and before him, Gordon Sinclair, learned how to be reporters on the job. All three travelled the world, living in the countries they reported on for months at a time, learning about the people, the culture and the country's history first hand as well as enough of the local dialects to talk directly to the people.
I admired them. Two have now died and with them the idea that the job was the news, not the reporter.

RIP Peter Jennings

[RedJazz]

Jennings never struck me as especially liberal except perhaps in the Kennedy - LBJ Cold Warrior sense.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by GoodSpeak

A boon for Liberal haters.

Why do you say that?

I tested your insenitive statement by searching for "Jennings" at the blogs on the online National Review site. Surely, you agree that NR is a conservative publication.

I found statements by four contributors. All four sadly noted Peter Jennings' passing with nary a single negative comment.

Most people I know liked him the best of the big three. His political views were irrelevant because he was evenhanded on the air.

Peter Jennings, RIP.

Originally Posted by patricia

P
Achilles, Peter Jennings and another journalist with whom you may not familiar, Gordon Sinclair before him, learned how to be a reporter on the job. Both travelled the world, living in the countries they reported on for months at a time, learning about the people, the culture and the country's history first hand.

Patricia, I know he was a foreign correspondent who did good work long ago. But TV news is pathetic, it helps dumb down the public, and feeds the cravings for sensationalism and celebrity worship, and I don't see that he did anything to change that.

Truly significant people (ie: artists, scientists) die all the time without this kind of attention. So I guess I'm too cynical to care that much when a handsome news reader dies.

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by achilles

Truly significant people (ie: artists, scientists) die all the time without this kind of attention. So I guess I'm too cynical to care that much when a handsome news reader dies.

So, then why not simply bail from the thread? Move on to whatever's truly important to you instead of sniping here.

Thank you.

another thread started by Goodie got combined into this one,
which might explain what seems like random sniping.

now back to 'the wagon master who help us feel calm.....'

[Lois Gilbert]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

Peter Jennings was a jazz fan! Every year he would host htis huge fund raiser in NYC for this charity--darn, I can't remember what the name of it is now--but it's one that helps jazz musicians and their families deal w/ addiction. Doris Parker was involved with it too. Lois, do you recall the name of the organization?

At any rate, I went one year and Peter was hosting it and he was really the one who got all these corporations to step up and put their $ down on a table.

He was a great guy! His passing is very sad.

BTW, Ed Bradley is a big jazz fan too. I met him once at one of Jimmy Scott's gigs.

Veritas is the organization you're thinking of Jazzy Mary, but the org helps families in need on (I believe) the west side of Manhattan. It does not help jazz musicians. The annual dinner gala which Peter Jennings hosted is called The Friends of Charlie Parker and musicians contribute their time, etc to benefit the organization of Veritas. Peter will surely be missed!

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by achilles

another thread started by Goodie got combined into this one,
which might explain what seems like random sniping.

now back to 'the wagon master who help us feel calm.....'

No, a decent, significant man has died. If you didn't appreciate his contributions . . . fine, but leave it alone, already.

PM or e-mail Goody if you must, but move on, please.

Thank you.

[jazzy mary]

Originally Posted by Lois Gilbert

Veritas is the organization you're thinking of Jazzy Mary, but the org helps families in need in (I believe) the west side of Manhattan. It does not help jazz musicians. The annual dinner gala which Peter Jennings hosted is called The Friends of Charlie Parker and musicians contribute their time, etc to benefit the organization of Veritas. Peter will surely be missed!

Lois, that is the name of the organization. Thanks! Doris Parker was involved with it too and, although it wasn't solely for jazz musicians, jazz musicians and their families did get help too. I believe specifically in dealing w/ addictions.

[groover]

Remembering the Soundtrack of Jennings' Life

Music Helped Jennings Connect to Story's Emotion

Aug. 12, 2005 - Peter Jennings loved music. He even used it to help him work.

On Fridays, when it was time to write scripts for "Person of the Week," he would often put on the Willie Nelson song, "It Always Will Be."

He would let it get him choked up and then start writing.

For Jennings, journalism was not just in the words -- not only in the "think" of the story -- but also the feel of the story, the emotion, to which music helped him connect.

Jennings loved all kinds of music. His staff once called in bagpipe players for a birthday surprise in the newsroom.


Lover of Jazz Music

But Jennings really loved jazz. He raised money for his favorite causes each summer by hosting the "Jazz at Jennings" charitable event at his home.

"I like country music, I like jazz, I like Latin music, I like rock and roll, I like classical music a lot," he said in a recent interview. "I think I like almost everything except heavy metal. And I go to listen to a lot of music when I can."

"He loved jazz," said jazz singer Shannon Gibbons, a friend of Jennings. "I think just the volatile nature of it. The idea is improvisation, the whole idea behind jazz is to do something that you haven't done before, and he was intrigued by that," Gibbons said.

"In many ways, Peter was like a jazz musician," said jazz trumpeter John Faddis, also a friend of Jennings. "He was able to tell a story, and that's what jazz musicians since the beginning of jazz have always tried to do when playing and improvising is to tell a story."

"He was larger than life on TV, but in person he was a regular guy who appreciated other people and what they could do," said jazz saxophonist Jimmy Heath. "He was more down to earth than his appearance would lead you to believe."

Jennings even "got to Carnegie Hall" -- as a trustee. He hosted Carnegie Hall's opening night in 2004.

"He came to my very first concert and, typical of Peter, got very absorbed in the music, wanted to know everything about Mahler," said conductor Gilbert Kaplan, Carnegie Hall board member. "Peter just responded to music, but then Peter responded to everything, didn't he?"

Jennings' good friend Yo-Yo Ma -- whose "Appalachian Waltz" was a Jennings favorite -- said today he was amazed how the anchorman, amidst all the demands of his job, always made time for the music.

ABC News' Bill Blakemore filed this report for "World News Tonight."


Copyright © 2005 ABC News Internet Ventures

[Lois Gilbert]

Peter Jennings Honored at Carnegie Hall
Luminaries Attend Music-Filled Memorial for Peter Jennings at Carnegie Hall
By DAVID BAUDER
The Associated Press
Sep. 20, 2005 - At a music-filled memorial at Carnegie Hall, Peter Jennings was remembered Tuesday as a journalist with a childlike awe of the world, a devoted father and loyal Canadian who always carried a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

A picture of a smiling Jennings, the sun in his face and blue skies behind him, was projected over the stage of the New York landmark.

The audience of about 2,000 people was filled with luminaries: Mike Wallace, Brian Williams, Dan Rather, Tom Wolfe, Larry King, Jon Stewart, Charles Gibson, Al Sharpton, Alan Alda, George Stephanopoulos, Bob Schieffer, Michael Eisner, Elizabeth Vargas and her husband Marc Cohn.

"An anchor is what keeps a ship from drifting into dangerous waters," said ABC News President David Westin. "It keeps us steady and secure during the night, and that's what Peter was to ABC News."

When they joined the network four decades ago, Ted Koppel recalled how he was known as the smart one and Jennings the handsome one. Jennings who died of lung cancer Aug. 7 kept his looks to the end but was also "very, very smart," he said.

"From the time I first met Peter 41 years ago until our last meeting a few weeks ago, I felt a thrill whenever I saw him," the "Nightline" host said. "Not that many people have that charisma, that kind of animal magnetism that makes it difficult to focus on anybody else in the room."

Jennings, ABC's chief news anchor for more than 20 years, was also "famously attracted to women," Koppel said. "Even so, he only married four of them."

A handful of homeless people were also in the hall. Jennings' widow, Kayce, was startled recently when a homeless man approached to express sympathy for her loss; Jennings had befriended him during walks in Central Park.

Jennings frequently served meals to the homeless after leaving the ABC News studio and that night's broadcast of "World News Tonight," said Mary Brosnahan Sullivan of the Coalition for the Homeless.

"The Peter I knew was somebody of concrete action," she said.

Personal remembrances were interspersed with music a gospel choir, violinist Natalie MacMaster, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, singer Alison Krauss and a jazz combo. Jennings was an insatiable jazz fan.

"For Peter, jazz was more than just a form of music, it was a way of looking at life," Westin said.

A hopeless sentimentalist, Jennings was "the only person I knew who got weepy telling about his service on jury duty," ABC producer Tom Nagorski said.

Alan Alda recalled Jennings as "complex and simple at the same time, knowledgeable and inquisitive, kind and tough at the same time, gracious and direct." He never left a social engagement without Jennings giving him a book; the last was a copy of the Constitution, he said.

Jennings never lost his Canadian identity an honor guard from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police marched at the service but was proud to also become a U.S. citizen a few years before he died.

Many of his ABC News colleagues have worn bracelets saying "what would Peter do?" since his death. For all the professional colleagues and anecdotes at the memorial, the pictures projected onstage showed an off-camera Jennings on family outings. Friends said his two children, Chris and Elizabeth, were his proudest accomplishments.

They were also the last to speak at the nearly two-hour remembrance.

"There is no way to express how much I miss my father," his son said. "Each day is, above all else, a day without him."