Was he still doing the news recently?
lekatt, how old do you think I am? Probably older than you think.
I was a huge fan of Peter Jennings and watched him every night. It shocked and saddened me when he died. But let me tell you why I resent the lovefest. ABC is exploiting its custodianship of the airwaves. Don’t you think worthy and beloved leaders of corporations, universities, city halls, houses of worship, cultural organizations, etc. who have passed away have colleagues and admirers who would love to give them a send-up like the one Jennings is getting? Sure they would. But do they get it? No. Why? Because they do not have a worldwide TV network at their disposal.
And then there is the tacky factor. What ABC is doing is just unseemly. It’s their job to report the news, not make it. And make it. And make it…
Not since he announced he had lung cancer on April 5. I’m not sure if that was when he stopped appearing as anchor, but I know he said it then and never made it back to the air.
Back to Jennings for a moment: as all the obits have noted, the man never finished high school, and look at all the things he accomplished that you wouldn’t have expected in a profession that, these days, is geared around polished and educated men.
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The world isn’t honoring him. ABC is, and as much as he deserves the praise, it’d be foolish to suggest they don’t have their ratings or brand in mind as they do so.
Not everything that happens in the world is a conspiracy. Not every deed is dishonest. Not every human emotion is faked. Grow up.
Peter Jennings was known the world over. He traveled to many countries reporting the news. It was his job to find, and present that which was newsworthy. No one could have done it like he did. He was especially liked for bringing the causes of the poor to the news room. You evidently don’t know much about him or how the news works.
It is not a lovefest, it is honoring the accomplishment of great person. They are not exploiting the airwaves, it is their right to present what they do. They they do it worldwide should be obvious, Peter was known worldwide.
I don’t care how old you are in years. I was not referring to that.
Who said anything about a conspiracy? I’ve argued against every conspiracy theory I’ve ever heard on this site.
I said nothing about dishonesty or fakery. I heard his colleagues talk about him the night he died and I thought their emotion was totally genuine. I still do. They knew him, worked with him and cared about him for a long time.
As I already said - sadly, you’re making the repetition necessary - we’re talking about ABC, the network, and some of the programming decisions they’ve made. This is neither an evaluation of Peter Jennings or of his friends and co-workers. Do you get that yet? I was quite sad he died. I don’t begrudge the people who knew him any of their feelings. I think it’s a little excessive that so much of the mourning is taking place on the air, especially if it subtracts time from actual news coverage. Jennings was a public figure, but I think some of that grieving needs to be in private. That’d be better from a news standpoint and in my opinion, more respectful to him.
I’ll confess amazement that you say these things without so much as a pinch of apparent irony.
Just change the channel, leave the people with their grief. ABC has every right to honor Peter as long as they wish. They don’t need your criticism, they already feel bad. Change the channel, leave them alone.
I don’t see a problem with remembering someone for a whole week after they’ve died, even if it is out of character for television.
If they do this when Barbara Walters kicks it, though, I’m going to have to blow something up real good.
I’m not watching it! But guess what: I’m still allowed to comment, and if I feel like it, I will. Grow up, deal with it, etc. As I said, and I’m not going to go back and count the number of times I said it, I’m not disparaging or questioning anyone’s grief.
Anyone else wonder if ABC (or the other networks) had the videography of Jennings life all put together and in the can prior to his passing?
By the way, a report came out today that CNN got word of Jennings’ death (or impending death), but decided to let ABC break the news. If true, that’s just embarrassing.
There was an article in the New York Times earlier this week that claimed ABC had not prepared either a succession plan or a tribute. A short snippet from the article:
When asked to characterize the news division’s collective attitude in recent days and weeks, Paul Slavin, a senior vice president, said, “There was a combination of hope and not wanting to hurt the family.”
Really? Done what? Look, if you want to be the president of your local Peter Jennings fan club, go for it, but enough of the nauseating hyperbole.