Talk:Peter Jennings

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[edit] Small Right Aligned Boxes?

Hi all, I've added a spoken version of this article right now but noticed that the banner at the top of the talk page is just adding to the clutter. I'm no whiz with templates, so maybe someone experienced with them can use the small right aligned style rather than cluttering up the top with a ton of horizontal banners?¤~Persian Poet Gal (talk) 04:22, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Nicely done! Was your pronunciation of Appomattox deliberate in keeping with the context of the sentence? :) BuddingJournalist 05:09, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
Well the second pronunciation of lieutenant was meant to match what Peter was quoted as saying "leftenant" was but not that choice phrase :P. I was digging everywhere yesterday and couldn't find the proper pronunciation. This morning I finally struck gold and found one by "the real deal": http://chipdoc.com/LibriVox/Appomattox.mp3 . Going to upload the correct version in a moment. If you notice any other mispronunciations (which there probably are), feel free to leave a note on my talk page :).¤~Persian Poet Gal (talk) 16:47, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Pictures

This article has few pictures, and they're all terrible quality. I understand that copyrighted pictures should be low resolution, however it would be nice to have a high-quality picture for his infobox. M.nelson (talk) 01:00, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cultural bias

In the introduction, where it states that Jennings "transformed himself into one of television's most prominent journalists", would it not be better (and more correct) to state that he transformed himself into one of America's most prominent journalists, or even North America? The current version seems to make the assumption that a prominent journalist in one country is therefore prominent in the entire world. I'm sure most people in Sweden have never heard of him for example, but they also must have prominent journalists. 82.36.197.2 (talk) 13:35, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Someone has edited the article so that it now says "he transformed himself into one of American television's most prominent journalists." BuddingJournalist 18:35, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Article is Highly POV -- Where is the Ashwari Affair?

The article ignores two serious controversies that marred Jennings' career. The first was his virulent Canadian Nationalism and anti-Americanism. The second was an almost criminal bias toward the Palestinians which arose during a romantic relationship with leading Palestinian propagandist Hanan Ashwari.

Tbis bias and conflict of interest caused considerable comment even in the mainstream media. Just after 9/11, Jennings hosted a panel discussion that the the Washington Post's TV critic Tom Shales callled "an intercontinental tea party for alleged experts on the Middle East." Shales added:

"one of whom was professional Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi, whom Jennings hailed as 'widely known in the United States.' Also widely disliked. Jennings and Ashrawi greeted each other like old pals, with broad smiles and warm greetings.

Naturally. In Beirut, they used to date. Jennings never mentioned that on the air. In 1991, U.S. News & World Report noted:

"In the early 1970s, when he was single and head of the ABC bureau in Beirut, Jennings dated Ashrawi, who at the time was also single and a graduate student in literature at the American University in the Lebanese capital. Jennings was introduced to Ashrawi's parents and sisters and became part of her circle of friends."

The refusal of Jennings, or of ABC news, to acknowledge this bias, and conflict of interest tarnished his career and the reputation of ABC news.68.111.71.197 (talk) 22:16, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

You would need to have reliable sources that state that these were "serious controversies" that "tarnished his career and the reputation of ABC news". RE: "his virulent Canadian Nationalism and anti-Americanism": you do realize he became an American citizen right? You should also read the article a bit closer. The 9/11 panel is there as well as Jennings' relationship with Ashwari. So in answer to your question, "where is the Ashwari Affair?": it's in the article. In fact, both the column by Tom Shales and the U.S. News & World Report piece are cited.BuddingJournalist 01:29, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
I apologize for the failure to find the Hanan Ashwari mention. For some reason, IE7 refused to find "Ashwari". It happened again, so I tried "Hanan" and there it was, but section is still a whitewash. There were serious controversies, which Jennings imperiously ignored.
Among the lies that Jennings participated in was "Black September" itself -- it never existed, but was a false-front created by Yasser Arafat and his Soviet allies, which was quickly abandoned after Munich. (Spielberg joined this little charade in his recent film allegedly on the subject.) Jennings certainly learned this very soon, and issued no clarification, but then neither did any of his similarly inclined colleagues, preferring to maintain the "Arafat as moderate" myth.
As far as Jennings' Canadian Nationalism, this is well known in Canada, but alas, my Canadian Studies books are packed away at the moment, which is why I did not alter the article. I personally have no idea why such a reflexive, even racist Yankee-baiter became a US citizen, but it was certainly not out of love for the USA. As he told David Letterman on Sept 6, 2002:
"My mother was pretty anti-American, and so I was, in some respects, raised with anti-Americanism in my blood, or in my mother's milk at least."
Perhaps his employers thought it useful for him to become a pro-forma US citizen to fend off criticism. After all, he never renounced his Canadian citizenship, and primary loyalties. On another issue. On January 21, 2003. Jennings reported that:
"several hundred artists and writers walking through the streets of Baghdad to say thank you to Saddam Hussein" because his regime "has always supported the arts."
Yeah, sure. So they could paint lots of pictures of the nice man. There are many other issues, such as ordering Peter Collins in 1989 to turn a story on the Sandanistas into bald propaganda. Jennings "took a piece that I had written about the 10th anniversary of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and called me up in Managua and essentially dictated to me what I should say."
Oh, yes, I have been a journalist for over 40 years, am a Middle East expert, and did honors in Canadian Studies, specifically in the history of Canadian nationalism. I think those are sufficient qualifications to regard Peter Jennings as an ass, may he rest in peace.68.111.71.197 (talk) 02:55, 28 April 2008 (UTC)