By late 2004 , Brokaw had retired from his anchoring duties at NBC , ceding the reins to Brian Williams ; Rather planned to step down in March 2005 . Jennings and ABC saw an opportunity to gain viewers , and initiated a publicity blitz touting the anchor 's foreign reporting experience . However , despite having almost always reported from the scene of any major news story , Jennings was sidelined by an upper respiratory infection in late December 2004 ; he was forced to anchor from New York during the aftermath of the Asian tsunami , while his competitors traveled to the region . For Jennings , the situation was agonizing
Asian tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Peter Jennings