End of an era

In 1983, the year I graduated from high school, the three network news anchors were Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw. Remarkably, there was no turnover in any of those positions for 21 years. Then, Brokaw called it quits in December 2004, and Rather left reluctantly in March 2005. A month later, in April 2005, Jennings announced that he had lung cancer. Yesterday, Jennings lost his fight. His death marks the end of an era.

With the rise of cable news and the Internet, the heyday of network news has long since passed. Still, there is no doubt that this triumvirate etched their permanent places in the forefront of television and journalism history. In the age of the anchor-of-the-day at CNN, I will always remember with some nostaglia the names Rather, Brokaw, and Jennings.