Peter Jennings, RIP, please
I was sad to hear that Peter Jennings died the other day. I was particularly touched because my family is going through its own bout with cancer right now, and Jennings’ death reminded me how “lucky” we are that the cancer in my family is treatable.
Still, I was more than a little shocked at just how much time ABC and NBC (and probably CBS, I don’t know, does anybody watch CBS anymore?) devoted to eulogizing this guy. How many times did we hear that Jennings’ “came into our living rooms?” Ugh. Sure he came into my living room. So did Tom Brokaw, Jay Leno, and my favorite, Kevin James, who “comes into my bedroom” every single flippin’ night at 10:30.
It bothers me that newsfolks like Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, Charlie Gibson and the like so overestimate their importance in our lives. But for my generation, they are more like our parents’ friends than ours. You know, the couples that your Mom and Dad go out with once or twice a year. You know them as Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so, and you remember your Mom telling you that once Mrs. So-and-so got drunk and threw up in their car, but you don’t care because those people are irrelevant to you and your life.
That’s how I feel about TV news anchors. They are there, and occasionally I might watch them, but I don’t have a meaningful sentimentality toward any of them. My thoughts when I heard Peter Jennings died were, “Huh. That’s too bad.” And I was willing to go on with my day. Until the Today Show (which I had on for the weather and it just stayed on) decided to spend eons talking about what a great colleague he was. Which I thought was funny because yesterday, Peter Jennings was a “consummate professional” but before he had lung cancer, he was a complete asshole to work for. Hmmmmm……
It’s sad that Peter Jennings had lung cancer, and it’s sad that he died. But sadder still, is that ABC, NBC, and the rest of the MSM overestimate our interest in his life or death.
Still, I was more than a little shocked at just how much time ABC and NBC (and probably CBS, I don’t know, does anybody watch CBS anymore?) devoted to eulogizing this guy. How many times did we hear that Jennings’ “came into our living rooms?” Ugh. Sure he came into my living room. So did Tom Brokaw, Jay Leno, and my favorite, Kevin James, who “comes into my bedroom” every single flippin’ night at 10:30.
It bothers me that newsfolks like Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, Charlie Gibson and the like so overestimate their importance in our lives. But for my generation, they are more like our parents’ friends than ours. You know, the couples that your Mom and Dad go out with once or twice a year. You know them as Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so, and you remember your Mom telling you that once Mrs. So-and-so got drunk and threw up in their car, but you don’t care because those people are irrelevant to you and your life.
That’s how I feel about TV news anchors. They are there, and occasionally I might watch them, but I don’t have a meaningful sentimentality toward any of them. My thoughts when I heard Peter Jennings died were, “Huh. That’s too bad.” And I was willing to go on with my day. Until the Today Show (which I had on for the weather and it just stayed on) decided to spend eons talking about what a great colleague he was. Which I thought was funny because yesterday, Peter Jennings was a “consummate professional” but before he had lung cancer, he was a complete asshole to work for. Hmmmmm……
It’s sad that Peter Jennings had lung cancer, and it’s sad that he died. But sadder still, is that ABC, NBC, and the rest of the MSM overestimate our interest in his life or death.
posted by Anonymous @ 8:50 AM
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