GOOD NIGHT, PETER JENNINGS

For generations of TV viewers, Peter Jennings was a knowledgeable, reassuring source for the night’s news. That voice was silenced Sunday when Mr. Jennings, 67, died of lung cancer in New York.

Mr. Jennings, the longtime evening anchor at ABC News, was part of the troika of newsmen, along with Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw, who dominated television for two decades. With his death and the retirement of the others, the age of the news anchor who doubled as a seasoned reporter ready to cover the biggest story from anywhere in the world is over.

Few can forget Mr. Jennings reporting for 60 hours beginning on the morning of Sept. 11. He could barely hide his dismay at what was unfolding around the country, yet he maintained his calm demeanor and curiosity, repeatedly asking reporters what they knew. His voice reassured many Americans who wondered what was happening to their country.

A high school dropout, Mr. Jennings came to be viewed as a worldly alternative to Mr. Brokaw’s Midwestern farm boy manner and Mr. Rather’s brash, and sometimes offbeat, style. His Canadian accent is less responsible for this than his years of international reporting and his insatiable desire to learn. After briefly anchoring the evening news at ABC at the age of 26, Mr. Jennings became a foreign correspondent. He was on hand as the Berlin Wall was being built. He was also there when it was torn down. He covered the Olympics in Munich when Israeli athletes were taken hostage. He and a crew hid in the athlete’s quarters for an up-close view of the unfolding drama.

In 1978, he became one of three anchors of “World News Tonight.” He became the sole anchor in 1983, a job he held until he was diagnosed with lung cancer in April. For a decade, the show dominated the ratings and the Washington Journalism Review named Mr. Jennings anchor of the year for three years in a row.

In 2003, Mr. Jennings became an American citizen, scoring 100 percent, he proudly declared, on his citizenship exam.

“Peter was born to be an anchor,” NBC’s Tom Brokaw said Monday.

“He seemed so timeless. He has such elan and style.”

His time, it turned out, was short. The television picture is not as bright without his reassuring presence.