Peter Jennings
ABC World News Tonight Anchor, 9/11 Coverage
The Lion Anchor
Peter Jennings anchored ABC World News Tonight for 22 years, becoming one of America’s most trusted voices. Self-educated — he dropped out of high school and educated himself through reporting from around the world — he was on air for 17 consecutive hours on September 11, 2001. He died of lung cancer in 2005, four months after announcing his diagnosis live on air.
Leo Legacy
- ABC World News Tonight: 22 years as anchor — one of the most trusted voices in American journalism
- Self-educated: No college degree — became the world’s most sophisticated news anchor through sheer work
- 9/11 coverage: 17 consecutive hours anchoring on the day of the attacks
- Cancer announcement: Told viewers of his diagnosis live on air — the reporter’s instinct never left him
Jennings’ Leo gravitas turned the nightly news into something that actually mattered.
“It’s important for me to be the truth-teller. That’s what I was hired to do.”