Friends, colleagues remember Peter Jennings

He will be missed: "In my humble view, Peter was really the best of the breed. He was better than any of us ... I think Peter's appeal was that he was natural. Even though he didn't have much formal education -- he never finished high school -- he always brought perspective to all of his stories and people learned to trust him. Because he studied history deeply, he was very aware of putting stories in context for people, putting stories in perspective. He had a sense of poetry in his language. All of those things are what drew the audience to him, I believe. He will be sadly missed."

Tom Brokaw, former "NBC Nightly News" anchor:

America's anchor: "To be an anchor requires two essential elements: bravado that you can go out there and do the job; and fear that you may not do it right ... I think that was a big part of the character of Peter Jennings and his long and distinguished and enviable career."

A brother: "We were not just competitors and colleagues, we were really friends ... It was a competitive brotherhood ... we all made each other better, and I think that's the essential truth of the relationship we have."

Dan Rather, former "CBS Evening News" anchor:

A fierce competitor: "He had the heart of a reporter, he had the will and the skill of a reporter. And he died as he lived and reported: brave, principled, loving to his family, loyal to his friends, caring about other people, especially the poor ... and always with his deep passionate views ... (But) make no mistake. Inside that tall, handsome, elegant and eloquent exterior -- inside that beat the heart of a fierce but principled competitor. And the last person you wanted to see coming on a story, and particularly a big story, was Peter Jennings."

Barbara Walters, host of ABC's "The View" and ABC News veteran:

On being Canadian: "I want to say something about the way Peter felt about Canada. This was a country that he loved. He only became an American citizen last year and he was very often criticized for doing American elections and doing so many reports and just being on American television -- but he didn't want to give up his Canadian citizenship for a very long time. I think it's important for you to know how much it meant to him."

His work ethic: "Peter would push you. He would push himself. He did tonnes of homework. He asked all kinds of questions. He made us better. He was, in every sense of the word, our anchor."

Ted Koppel, ABC's "Nightline" anchor:

One of the great ones: "I think he will be remembered as one of the last great anchors ... (9/11) really came, in a sense, at the culmination of his career. Remember, Peter was a young man who dropped out of high school ... He never picked up on that formal education again but when he travelled around the world, he always carried with him a suitcase full of books, and wherever he went he would meet with professors, he would meet with veteran journalists in that community, anywhere around the world, take them out to dinner, pump them dry, get whatever information he could. Peter was a lifelong student, and I think his performance on 9/11 was a time when he was able to draw on that reservoir of knowledge and experience that he'd been building up over 40 years.

Expats: "He and I always joked about it because I was born in England. He was born in Canada. Here we were, a couple of pretenders, working up the ranks in the United States."

Diane Sawyer, ABC's "Good Morning America" anchor:

A true professional: When I first arrived here at ABC and walked in, and he was on a special report about the Middle East, and he told the cameraman to turn around because, he said, I know that if you go two streets over, there's a cafe there. And look behind that cafe and there's a park and the trees are there. And I'm thinking, 'I am so out of my league. I've got to leave immediately.' ... It's customary to say, 'He will not come again.' Peter Jennings will not come again.

Pamela Wallin, Canadian Consul General:

A Canadian 'til the end: "He maintained his interest in Canadian politics right to the very end. He was always interested in what was going on at home and made a great effort to make sure that Americans understood some of the issues between the two countries ... He was an incredible journalist. He was also a very elegant and kind gentleman, and I really loved that about him ... He so understood the American psyche and American psychology. And perhaps it was in part because he was an outsider, he was able to peer in and see that clearly and translate it back to viewers."

Max Keeping, CJOH News anchor and former colleague:

A mentor: "He was always tremendously generous and gracious with our reporters, who might call and say, 'I'm coming to New York, can I get a tour of ABC?' He would look after that and made sure he met with them. He plucked two young men out of our newsroom ... He happened to see Richard (Gizbert) on CTV one weekend in which he was stuck in Montreal. He came up for the NHL all-star game, got snowed in, tuned in to the station. He liked Richard's report and said, 'How would you like a job?'"

David Westin, ABC News president:

Fascinated by everything: "The void Peter leaves cannot be described, but as much as we miss him, Peter Jennings will always be with us at ABC News -- in our history, in who we are, in what we do, in the stories we care about. As for how he viewed his role, he described it 40 years ago, when he was still on the verge of an epic career: 'I'm fascinated by everything. There's just too much going on in too
many places that I just daren't miss.'

"He meant every word, and then he lived it. The splendid journey that to him was so irresistible because it never ended."