Canadian influence on U.S. evening news

Does being a Canadian make you a better TV news anchor? The recent death of longtime ABC News anchor Peter Jennings does make you wonder about whether being Canadian make a difference?

Most fans of Jennings probably didn't know he was Canadian, except for an occasional a-BOOT for about. Clearly though for his viewers, Jennings' Canadian perspective did help him sort out the stories around the world in his role as senior editor of World News Tonight.

Jennings was an outsider, but he used that to his advantage. In numerous international circles, sources are more likely to speak to a Canadian than an American.

His perspective as an immigrant allowed him to relate to the minority of situations. Jennings took a lot of grief for allegations of pro-Palestinian coverage, but he saw that as more like "they have a point of view, too." The many specials he produced reflected the desire to tell stories not otherwise heard.

That's not to say that Dan Rather (CBS-Texas) and Tom Brokaw (NBC-South Dakota) couldn't understand the complexities around the globe. But Jennings had an extra edge when it came to international stories, and being Canadian played a role.

If you grow up Canadian, you have two distinct advantages in seeing the world. You get more exposure to stories around the world. And you see America's role through objective, unbiased eyes.

Canadians regularly get better and more informed coverage of world events than Americans. Perhaps that is due to stronger ties to its British and French histories. Or maybe Canadians get more information because they generally want to know more about what goes on in the world.

"Perhaps I've always been a foreign correspondent in the United States," Jennings said to Stephen Cole of cbc.ca. "That's been helpful to me over the years. Canadians view America with a certain critical detachment. We see things about America that Americans don't. I know that every night when I read the news I can feel my mother, a fierce Canadian nationalist, over my shoulder saying, 'Now Peter, what are you saying here?'"

Now being Canadian doesn't automatically make you a great anchor. If so, John Roberts would be sitting in the CBS chair instead of Bob Schieffer. Then there are other Canadian-born U.S. news stars, including Morley Safer and Keith Morrison. But Jennings proved that being Canadian gives you advantages in the position.

"Canadian TV journalists have a reputation for being good at journalism as well as TV," Jennings said to Cole. "American networks snap us up because we don't need any handholding. We can go to work right away."

If anything, Jennings made it more acceptable for Americans to understand world events, and yes, even Canadian ones. Even though Jennings did finally get his U.S. citizenship in 2003, he retained his Canadian citizenship until his death.

One significant clip of Jennings' career that rang through the many tributes was his coverage of the capture of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. Jennings was asked on the air to speculate as to which group may have taken this horrible action. When he uttered "Black September," most people had no idea what that was. But Jennings knew. And he was right.

After the Cold War, the U.S. networks cut back on international coverage. Cost effectiveness was cited, but it did play into the mindset that Americans don't care about the world unless they have a direct cause.

Despite the cuts, Jennings worked hard to keep the spotlight on international issues he felt were important. During the tributes, Brokaw noted Jennings' determination and hard work in the coverage of Bosnia when little attention was placed on the region.

In this post 9/11 world, international news has proven to be vitally crucial to the American audience. Jennings did his part to guide the coverage in this new world era. Yes, his many years overseas had a lot to do with the way stories were reported. But being Canadian was a great jumping-off point for his career.