Weigh in on kid 'Today Show' anchor
Polling open for 'Today' show top kid reporter
The prospect of big-time fame has changed Jack Hennessy, but his friends say it's just in a good way.
Known around SS Peter & Paul School as "Action Jackson," the ebullient 10-year-old appeared for a second time Monday on the "Today" show, his last televised segment before the world will know whether it will be Jack or one of the three other finalists who will be named top junior journalist in the show's Kid Reporter Contest.
(Danielle Gardner/Staff Photographer)
(Danielle Gardner/Staff Photographer)
(Danielle Gardner/Staff Photographer)
(Submitted/Peter Kramer, NBC)
• That's a wrap, Jack
Jack would be a good choice, a small cluster of his friends told a visitor. He's funny, creative and artistically talented, they said -- and the moms like him.
"He's really good for this," said Jack Sznajder, one of his best buddies. "He's got a great personality."
The group, and the rest of Jack's fifth-grade classmates, were there with him Monday morning to watch the piece he taped in New York City late last week, gathering in the basement library of the downtown Naperville school.
While they waited for the part that interested them to come on, teacher Jean Lindsey asked Jack to talk about his first two trips to the city, both of which happened in the past two weeks.
He started at the beginning.
"It was a really scary plane ride, because the runway, they put it really close to the water," Jack said.
He asked how many of his schoolmates have been to downtown Chicago, and the air filled with hands.
"Imagine like Chicago, but it's never ending," he said. "It seemed like the skyscrapers were watching me. You'd walk for a really long time and then turn around and the same skyscraper was right there."
The segment featured the four finalists -- who also include kids from Oklahoma and Tennessee -- hanging out in Manhattan and interviewing pediatric cancer activist and actress Marcia Gay Hardin. As the theme song from "Rocky" played in the background, each contestant spoke about his or her vision for tomorrow.
"My dream for the future is to become a reporter and report on good things in the world," Jack said.
Afterward, when his school peers had a chance to pepper him with questions -- Did he get to keep the mike? Did he meet anybody famous? Did they all have the same producer? Has it been memorable? -- Jack was able to provide more details.
Principal Frank Glowaty wanted to know whether he'd had to wear makeup when he was on TV,
"That powdery stuff," Jack said, grimacing but relating that the stiff, gloppy stuff was minimal, much to his relief. "Then they fixed my hair. They said it was really messy."
He deftly sidestepped predictions of victory over his three fellow finalists and newfound friends.
"They're all really, really good, and they're all really nice," he said. "I think it'll be really close."
After advancing to the final round fueled by a video entry featuring his backyard vegetable garden and the ways it expressed the green movement, Jack can't help having a cherished topic for his reporting. Still, he knows the profession doesn't work that way.
"I would do all my reports, if I could, probably on the environment," he said. "(But) it really depends what's going on."
Do you think Jack Hennessy would make a great television news guy? Here's your chance to make your opinion count.
The Naperville fifth-grader is one of four finalists in the Kid Reporter Contest being sponsored by "The Today Show." In addition to the title, the top vote-getter in the viewer polling will win a weeklong vacation on Carnival Cruise Line's newest ship. The three runners-up also will go on a cruise.
There are two ways to vote: log on to www.todayshow.com and watch the clips of the finalists, then click on your choice; or text message your vote to 622639, choosing 4 for Jack - or 1 for Samantha Isler of Tulsa, Okla.; 2 for Brodie Myers of Stillwater, Okla.; or 3 for Deidra Shores of Memphis, Tenn.
Voters must be at least 13 years old and permanent legal residents of the U.S. Voting will continue until 4 p.m. Central time Wednesday.
Although one vote is allowed per person, the rules are subject to change. Check the Web site for updates.
The winner will be announced on Thursday's show.
