h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4130510.stm

Peter Jennings died; had I been in the States, watching their corporate media as one is obliged to do if they want a visual, I would have known that he was dying since April.

For better or worse, he was the calm voice that took me through every news event that I can remember. He was my constant companion through those first terrifying days after 9/11.

As cynical as I am about American media, I *liked* Jennings. I felt like he could probably even be a real person. Since I began communicating with people overseas, when asked what sort of accent I had, invariably I would say, 'a Peter Jennings sort of accent.' I hate that he's gone, and I hate that he left when I wasn't at home. It feels wierdly isolating.

Being a fully cynical adult now, I don't think I could develop such a bond with another news anchor. Sorry, the BBC breakfast crew just doesn't cut it.