Three Cheers for Peter Jennings!

ABC has been my main source for news for as long as I can remember. I eat my breakfast while listening to the latest feature on Good Morning America, which presents a balanced mix of hard news, fun stuff, and everything in between. I was, in fact, watching GMA on Tuesday, September 11. Charlie Gibson interviewed a young woman who had been raped while studying abroad. They had a feature on a man working for the Ugly Modeling company, after which Tony Perkins proclaimed, "Sign me up!" Charlie teased Diane Sawyer about the notes she had written on her hand in ink. And somewhere in there, I'm sure someone said something about Gary Condit. It was a typical morning at ABC.

I left the house at 8:15 and worked on the computer at school before going to class. I never saw the normal morning turn disastrous and deadly. I just heard at the beginning of class that some planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. When I left at 10:45, I joined the throng watching ABC in our school cafeteria. I then learned that the Pentagon had been hit, and my chest tightened. It would be several hours before I allowed myself to consider the full implication of this news.

I was reminded of the death of Princess Diana. I was reminded of the fiasco with the 2000 election. And I was reminded just how important television journalism has become. I stared at the screen for the next 45 minutes, watching the terror unfold. And yet, in the midst of the chaos, there was calm as the network made a coordinated effort to keep us abreast of the situation without causing us to fly into a panic.

I don't know how they did it. To be so close and to have to set aside their own fears and sorrow for the sake of our sanity... I admire the strength of every journalist, every photographer, every correspondent, every anchor. But one face stands out above all the rest. Peter Jennings. Somehow, as I kept my eyes glued to the television for the next week, he was always there. Always the model of composure, he stood at the helm and guided us through the days of uncertainty. Showing just enough of his emotion for us to realize how hard this must be for him, he never faltered for more than a moment or two as he told us what was happening and introduced us to yet another eye-witness or expert.

More than President Bush, more than Mayor Guilliani, more than Reverend Graham, I relied on the omnipresent Peter Jennings to get me through the week. I applaud his professionalism, his fairness, his gentleness. I am not ashamed to say how much I benefited from his forum with the children on Saturday. I have seen the healing power of journalism this week, the positive impact it can have when done well. I salute Peter Jennings and the rest of the ABC News team for their diligence and dedication, working for days on end with little or no sleep, little or no time to release their own emotions.

I really can't compare ABC to the other stations because I depended on ABC. I didn't change the channel. What I encountered was responsible and sensitive journalism presented by a group of people who, to paraphrase my favorite patriotic hymn, loved their country more than themselves. And in their own way, they were essential to keeping this country together in crisis.