End of an Era

Peter Jennings took the anchor of ABC's World News Tonight in 1983, which was the same time I was entering my teenage years. Tom Brokaw also took over at NBC in 1983, while Dan Rather had ascended to the hot seat at CBS in 1981. Since my interest in watching the nightly news prior to then was non-existent, in a sense, I grew up with these three men bring the day's top stories. Sometime in the mid-1980s I became interested in watching the nightly news, and by seminary in the early '90s, it had become a routine to eat dinner while I watched the news. Peter Jennings became my preferred choice.

I preferred Mr. Jennings for three reasons. First, he came across as the least biased. Second, he usually started with worldwide news and then moved to national news. Third, he had the best screen presence. He was voice was pleasant, his manner was positive, and he had a way of being personable without inserting himself into the news. I sensed he was really trying to keep his own views out of the way.

I was disappointed with his special "The Search for Jesus." There was one case where he loaded the deck. But, overall, I preferred his "World News Tonight" over the traditional competitors.

For over twenty years, every evening you could tune in to Jennings, Brokaw, or Rather. Not any more. Since Rather and Brokaw have retired, with Peter's death, it is the end of an era.