Growing up with Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings, age 67, died yesterday night of lung cancer.
When I was growing up, my parents had taken control of the TV every 6:30pm to watch World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. When I was younger, I would pout but my opposition didn't prevent the development of a particular outlook on the world because of Jennings' news coverage.
Though I was only 11, watching his show gave me an understanding the fall of Communism as a momentous event bringing people together and reuniting families. I didn't understand the political differences but I could at least appreciate the weight of what was happening. Those early impressions drove my interest in journalism and eventually in public interest work.
The ability to communicate with even an elementary schooler was unique to World News Tonight: Jennings focused not only on explaining the issues in real news events but also on personalizing the story.
That is why I will so sorely miss Peter Jennings.
When I was growing up, my parents had taken control of the TV every 6:30pm to watch World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. When I was younger, I would pout but my opposition didn't prevent the development of a particular outlook on the world because of Jennings' news coverage.
Though I was only 11, watching his show gave me an understanding the fall of Communism as a momentous event bringing people together and reuniting families. I didn't understand the political differences but I could at least appreciate the weight of what was happening. Those early impressions drove my interest in journalism and eventually in public interest work.
The ability to communicate with even an elementary schooler was unique to World News Tonight: Jennings focused not only on explaining the issues in real news events but also on personalizing the story.
That is why I will so sorely miss Peter Jennings.
posted by Elaine at 8:15 AM
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