Special feature

John Alexander, 26, died suddenly on an assignment in China as an associate producer with Koppel on Discovery. He thrived on and loved broadcast journalism.

John interned at ABC News Nightline after his sophomore year at the University of Michigan. He "caught journalism” that summer and nothing was the same after that. John's passion for broadcast journalism became his life.

Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels. The round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things just a bit differently. They are not fond of rules, and they fear the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them, because they change things, they push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, I see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who actually do.

John Alexander emailed this quotation from Apple Computer to friends to explain his passion for journalism.

When John returned to Ann Arbor he joined Michigan Radio News and during his junior year produced reports for National Public Radio. John's mentor, Tom Bettag, executive producer of ABC News Nightline and This Week with George Stephanopoulos, had recommended John study abroad. In 2002 John followed Tom's advice and was appointed a Hansard Scholar at the London School of Economics. He interned at the BBC where, on his first day, John said he wanted to interview Prime Minister Tony Blair. Everyone laughed. John loved a challenge and marched over to 10 Downing Street, talked his way into meeting Mr. Blair and interviewed the Prime Minister. When no one at the BBC believed him, he placed the tape recorder on the table, hit play and smiled. John continued his studies that year at the School for International Training, Geneva, Switzerland, returning to Michigan to complete his degree in political science. After graduation from Michigan in 2003, John joined NPR's Morning Edition as an editorial assistant. He soon moved to ABC News to work for Tom Bettag. When the Koppel organization moved to the Discovery Channel John made the move with them.

The video tribute to John, produced by the Discovery Channel, was presented to an audience of hundreds at Discovery's headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland on January 12, 2008. David Zaslav, chief executive officer of Discovery, welcomed the overflow gathering of family and friends from Discovery and ABC. The video narrated by Discovery Managing Editor Ted Koppel explains how John created and pitched Discovery to do an in-depth documentary on China-­ the reason he was in China on the day he died.

David Zaslav, Ted Koppel, Tom Bettag and all of the Discovery family have the lasting appreciation of John's parents Maureen and Michael, brother Patrick, a talented filmmaker, and all of John's family.

John forwarded this quotation from Apple Computer to his friends on the staff of Nightline on his last day as an intern in 2001 before returning to Michigan for his junior year. Those who knew him see it as a fitting tribute to his enduring spirit.

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels. The round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things just a bit differently. They are not fond of rules, and they fear the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them, because they change things, they push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, I see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who actually do.”

Produced here with permission from the Alexander Family.