There is no better way to pay tribute to the passing of an icon like Peter Jennings than to let the man's own words constitute his eulogy. So read, and learn...
“I think there is a mainstream media. CNN is mainstream media, and the main, ABC, CBS, NBC are mainstream media. And I think it’s just essentially to make the point that we are largely in the center without particular axes to grind, without ideologies which are represented in our daily coverage, at least certainly not on purpose.”
— On CNN’s Larry King Live, May 15, 2001.
Peter Jennings said on many occasions that he was proud of the absence of bias in his journalism. Read through his own words, then, and be the judge.
There's not a good deal for Iraqis to be happy about at
the moment. Life is still very chaotic, beset by violence in
many cases, huge shortages. In some respects, Iraqis keep
telling us, life is not as stable for them as it was when Saddam
Hussein was in power..
Peter Jennings on December 14, 2003, the day
that Saddam's capture was announced.
Today the government said that America's prison population
grew 2.9 percent last year to nearly 2.1 million. That's
a record number of people in jail and prison. One out of
every 75 American men was incarcerated. The number
went up even though the crime rate continued to fall.
Peter Jennings on the May 27, 2003
“Tonight we have put the best child care system in the world on the American Agenda. That is to say, the system which is acknowledged to be the best outside the home. It’s in Sweden. The Swedish system is run and paid for by the Swedish government, something many Americans would like to see the U.S. government do as well.”
— World News Tonight, November 22, 1989
The civilized solution is to send Elian back to Cuba: “Good evening. In Miami today, immigration officials met with the Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez again, and once again the government has failed to get the kind of cooperation from the relatives that might allow the case of this young boy to end in a civilized manner that is best for him.”
— World News Tonight, March 28, 2000.
