Constitution Center Launches Jennings Project

March 18, 2007 — -- TV journalists are often known to carry certain tools of the trade with them on assignment -- a reporter's notebook, a mini tape recorder, maybe even a camera to capture historic moments on a big story.

But the late ABC News anchorman Peter Jennings also carried something else. His constant companion on his many travels around the globe was a copy of the United States Constitution.

Jennings was born Canadian, but had a life-long love affair with the document written by the American founding fathers in 1787. Many who knew him describe it as almost an obsession.

His long-time assistant, Lauren Lipani, said he carried a pocket-sized version in his back pocket.

"He became obsessed with the idea because Peter had such a romance with American history," Lipani recalled shortly after her boss's death. "So we ordered about 100 of them. They are everywhere. They're in his car, they're in his briefcase, they're in his office, and in his back pocket."

This weekend in Philadelphia, Jennings' passion is recognized. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia is launching the Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution at its headquarters just across the street from the Liberty Bell.

More than 30 journalists, including two from ABC News, are joining 12 high school fellows for a two-day seminar to explore the importance of the Constitution for journalists.

"The Constitution affects so much of what is covered as news," said Jane Eisner, vice president for National Programs and Initiatives at the center. "It's not just something that's important to the person who covers the Supreme Court or writes legal analysis, it's really something that affects environmental law, religion, politics [and] immigration."

The fellows, young and old, are rubbing elbows with legal scholars and constitutional experts. They are sharing in joint lunches and lectures, but the seminar goes beyond theory. Fellows are participating in mock trials and debating current issues like the claims of habeas corpus by detainees at Guantanamo Bay.