Peter Jennings Dies at Age 67

I saw this on the splash page of NYT this morning, and it came as a shock. Not a complete shock... I remember his final broadcast in April when he announced that he was suffering from lung cancer.

I grew up on ABCNews. Its what my Dad watched, and it was always on in the background as we got ready for school/work in the mornings and ate dinner at night. Peter Jennings voice and image made him another member of our household. The latter statement may sound rather cliche-ish, but I think that all of us can relate to growing up with the news. Its that background droning noise that you never really notice because its incorporated and embedded into your life so pervasively.

Families choose different networks... maybe some of you were raised on NBC or CBS. Mine was an ABC family.

I feel really sad that he's passed away. It really feels like a family-member has died. Serrusly. I look forward to all of the PJ retrospectives and specials that will probably arise over the next few days. I'll have to dust off my old copy of The Century. (I'm glad in retrospect that I was never able to get anyone to buy the book from me on eBay.)

Hmm... maybe I should go back to watching ABC news since I stopped watching CNN.