Former Friendly Rivals Remember Jennings

Aug. 8, 2005 — -- In the competitive world of television news, they were rivals, news anchors of the three most prominent networks. But Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather had a common bond and mutual respect that forged their friendship.

Watch ABC News' special tribute to Peter Jennings on "Primetime" on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

"We were not just competitors and colleagues. We were really friends," said Brokaw, reflecting on Jennings, who died Sunday of lung cancer at age 67. "We had a lot of opportunities to reflect on this in the last year. … It was a competitive brotherhood."

In the past year, television viewers have seen the end of an era as they have said goodbye to Brokaw, Rather and Jennings. Brokaw retired as anchor of "NBC Nightly News" in December after almost 23 years in the anchor chair, while Rather signed off as head of "CBS Evening News" after 24 years this past March. In April, Jennings announced on "World News Tonight" that he was pulling away from his duties as he was battling lung cancer.

Jennings was named anchor and senior editor of "World News Tonight" in September 1983, completing the trio of anchors that dominated network news for more than two decades. Rather began his run as anchor of in March 1981, while Brokaw was named anchor in April 1982, initially sharing the title with Roger Mudd. Brokaw and Rather respected Jennings' journalistic reputation and his desire to give viewers all sides of every story.

"Inside that tall, handsome, elegant and eloquent exterior -- inside that beat the heart of a fierce, but principled competitor," said Rather. "The last person you wanted to see coming on a story, particularly a big story, was Peter Jennings. … How much did I keep an eye on him? Constantly. All the time."

However, that rivalry and a common passion for news that was accurate, insightful and balanced made Brokaw, Rather and Jennings friends. They shared stories about being news anchors that only they could understand and pushed each other -- and their broadcasts -- to be better.