Canadian-American broadcast journalist (1938–2005)
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM (29 July 1938 – 7 August 2005) was a Canadian-American journalist who served as the sole anchor on ABC World News Tonight from 1983 through April 2005.
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Birth Name:
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings
Alternative Names:
Peter Charles Jennings
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"I'm a little concerned about this notion everybody wants us to be objective," Jennings said. Jennings said that everyone — even journalists — have points of view through which they filter their perception of the news. It could be race, sex or income. But, he said, reporters are ideally trained to be as objective as possible. "And when we don't think we can be fully objective, to be fair."
There's a whole industry of conservatives saying, "Ah, it's those damn liberals," and a whole group of liberals saying, "It's all those damn conservatives"... If you tailor your news viewing, as some people are now doing, so that you only get one point of view, well of course you're going to think somebody else has got a different point of view, and it may be wrong.
There are a lot of people who think our job is to reassure the public every night that their home, their community and their nation is safe. I don't subscribe to that at all. I subscribe to leaving people with essentially — sorry it's a cliche — a rough draft of history. Some days it's reassuring, some days it's absolutely destructive.
1. I've always shied away from conventional wisdom, though I know the power of it.
2. Don't be confused that my interest in religion, faith, and spirituality is driven by any sense of faith or spirituality of my own.
3. I am sensitive to the value of faith and religion and spirituality in people's lives because I'm a journalist.
4. Have a sense of humor about life - you will need it. And be courteous.
5. A couple of weeks is a long time in American politics.
6. I think you can be cynical about religion on occasion, and certainly skeptical about the degree to which some people use religion to manipulate other people.
7. I am utterly struck how, 300 years after his execution, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.