Peter Jennings: Encyclopedia II - Peter Jennings - Citizenship

Peter Jennings - Citizenship

Jennings was a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, having become an American citizen on May 30, 2003. He was said to have been very proud of scoring 100 of 100 on the U.S. citizenship exam. Even though Jennings became a dual citizen, he was still a proud Canadian, and would often retire in the summer to Wakefield, Quebec near Ottawa. He was given the key to the city by former mayor Jim Watson and he received an honorary degree from Carleton University. Jennings donated a sculpture to the city's By Ward Market and was often seen there during the summers.

Jennings' official biography on ABC mentioned nothing of his Canadian origins as that had been the target for much criticism. However, Jennings did cover a number of Canadian events that were largely ignored by other U.S. networks. He also often brought up Canadian examples during intense policy debates in Congress. Most notable was his coverage of the 1995 Quebec referendum where Jennings went to great lengths to explain why it was important to Americans.

In an interview on CBC's The National the evening after Jenning's passing friend and former rival, CBS anchor Dan Rather, noted in a tribute that Jennings' Canadian upbringing allowed him to get a different perspective on events from both inside and outside the US. That same day, the big three Canadian anchors, Peter Mansbridge at the CBC, Lloyd Robertson at CTV, and Kevin Newman, himself a former ABC correspondent at Global also gave their thoughts about Jennings and his Canadian roots; Robertson, in an interview on CTV's morning news show, Canada AM, and Newman, on Global National, which opened its broadcast with news of Jennings's death and closed it with Newman's thoughts. Newman later recalled these thoughts on his blog. ABC anchors Barbara Walters and Ted Koppel also appeared on Canada AM and shared their thoughts about Jennings and his Canadian roots.

Only a few days before his death, Jennings was told he would be receiving the Order of Canada. His family will accept the award on his behalf. Since the Order of Canada cannot be awarded posthumously, the award will be dated as of the day the investiture committee approved the nomination, June 29.

The memorial service for Peter Jennings, which was held at Carnegie Hall in New York City on September 20, featured an RCMP honour guard, paying tribute to Jennings' Canadian roots. It was also attended by Robertson.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a bill to designate the corner of West 66th Street and Columbus Avenue as "Peter Jennings Way" in honor of the late ABC News anchor.

West 66th Street and Columbus Avenue is home to ABC News world headquarters.

The new street sign will be unvieled in late-January or early-February.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Citizenship", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki