Peter Jennings Dies at Age 67

Peter Jennings, the ABC News anchor up until this past April when he announced he had lung cancer, died last night at his Central Park West home. The NY Times obituary describes him as "urbane", which definitely rings true: Of the Big Three anchors, Dan Rather was blunt and straight-talking, Tom Brokaw was more paternalistic, and Jennings was simply smooth. Jennings was an international journalist at heart, relishing the opportunity to report from overseas, notably being the first bureau chief for an American station in an Arab country (Lebanon, 1968). Other parts of Jennings' personal background were interesting to the public: The fact that he was Canadian, how he was a high school drop out, and his three marriages. This morning, Tom Brokaw calls Jennings his and Rather's "prince," as the three anchors were good friends. It really is the end of an era of news anchors; the only ones we can think of these days are Brian Williams (we watched a lot of MSNBC in our day) and Bob Schieffer (he's been around forever).

His ABC News biography and ABC News on his death.