ABC News tried to avoid preparing an advance obituary for Peter Jennings, according to Tuesday's New York Times. "There was a combination of hope and not wanting to hurt the family," senior VP Paul Slavin explained.

As Jennings' condition worsened, "the network chose not to begin assembling an extended video compilation in anticipation of his death," Jacques Steinberg writes. "After Charles Gibson announced on ABC just after 11:30 Sunday night that Mr. Jennings had died, his colleagues on 'Good Morning America' worked through the night to prepare the two-hour morning program that would pay tribute to his four decades at the network."