Jim Lehrer

Jim Lehrer
Lehrer at the 2007 Texas Book Festival
Born	James Charles Lehrer (1934-05-19) May 19, 1934 Wichita, Kansas, United States
Residence	Washington, DC, U.S.
Education	Victoria College (Texas) University of Missouri
Occupation	Journalist, news anchor, author
Notable credit(s)	PBS NewsHour The Dallas Morning News The Dallas Times Herald
Spouse(s)	Kate Lehrer (since 1960)

James Charles "Jim" Lehrer (/ˈlɛərər/;—born May 19, 1934) is a former American journalist and novelist, and is the former executive editor and a former news anchor for the PBS NewsHour on PBS. He is also known for his role as a debate moderator in U.S. presidential election campaigns, and is an author of numerous fiction and non-fiction books, which draw upon his experience as a newsman, and his interests in history and politics.

Early years

Lehrer was born in Wichita, Kansas—the son of Lois Catherine (née Chapman), a bank clerk; and Harry Frederick Lehrer, a bus station manager. He attended middle school in Beaumont, Texas, and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio, TX) where he was one of the three sports editors for the Jefferson Declaration. He graduated with A.A. from Victoria College in Texas, and with B.J. from the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in 1956.

After graduation from college, Lehrer joined the United States Marine Corps and attributes his service and travels with helping him to look past himself and feel a connection to the world that he would not have otherwise experienced.

Career

In 1959 Lehrer began his career in journalism at The Dallas Morning News. Later, he was a reporter for the Dallas Times-Herald, where he covered the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, and reported on other events until 1966, was a political columnist for several years, and became the city editor in 1968.

He began his TV career at Dallas KERA-TV as executive director of public affairs, on-air host, and editor of a nightly news program. He then moved to PBS in Washington, DC, to become the public affairs coordinator, a member of Journalism Advisory Board, and a fellow at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Next, Lehrer worked as a correspondent for the National Public Affairs Center for Television (NPACT) where he met Robert MacNeil. In 1973, they covered the Senate Watergate hearings and the revelation of the Watergate Tapes broadcast live on PBS. Lehrer also covered the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry of Richard Nixon.

In October 1975, Lehrer became the Washington correspondent for the "Robert MacNeil Report" on Thirteen/WNET New York. Two months later on December 1, Lehrer was promoted to co-anchor, and the program was accordingly renamed "The MacNeil/Lehrer Report". In September 1983, Lehrer and MacNeil relaunched their show as The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, which after MacNeil's departure in 1995 was renamed The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and later became the PBS NewsHour in 2009.

Lehrer underwent a heart valve surgery in April 2008, and, while he recuperated, Ray Suarez anchored in his stead until his return on June 28, 2008.

On May 12, 2011, Lehrer announced he would be stepping down as anchor of PBS NewsHour on June 6, 2011, but would continue to moderate the Friday news analysis segments, and would continue to be involved with the show's production company, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions.

Lehrer's career in journalism has been recognized through numerous awards and honors. These include several Emmys, the George Foster Peabody Broadcast Award, a William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit, and the University of Missouri School of Journalism's Medal of Honor. And, in 2004, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Journalism degree by McDaniel College.[2]

Presidential debate moderator

Nicknamed the "Dean of Moderators" by CNN's Bernard Shaw, Lehrer has moderated 12 presidential candidate debates, including the first presidential debate between senators Barack Obama and John McCain on September 26, 2008. Lehrer has been involved in several debate-related projects, including the Debating Our Destiny documentaries in 2000 and 2008. The documentaries feature excerpts of Lehrer's exclusive interviews with most of the presidential and vice presidential candidates since 1976.

Lehrer hosted the first United States presidential election debate for the 2012 U.S. presidential general election. He originally had sworn off moderating any debates after 2008, but the Commission on Presidential Debates persisted, and he accepted, interested in a new format. The debate was held at the University of Denver, Denver, Colorado and covered domestic policy issues. Coming out of semi-retirement to moderate his 12th presidential debate, Lehrer came under criticism by some on social media and in the press for his lack of control and open-ended questions. Conversely, he was also praised for letting the candidates have some control in the debate in their own terms.

Personal life

Lehrer is an avid bus enthusiast and hobbyist. His father was a bus driver, who also briefly operated a bus company. As a college student in the 1950s, Lehrer himself worked as a Trailways ticket agent in Victoria, Texas. He is a collector of bus memorabilia—including depot signs, driver caps, and antique toy buses, and is a supporter of the Pacific Bus Museum in Williams, California, and the Museum of Bus Transportation in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Lehrer is a prolific writer, and has authored numerous novels, as well as having penned several plays & screenplays, and three personal memoirs. His most recent book is "Top Down", a novel based on the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination.

He is married to the novelist Kate Lehrer. They have three daughters and six grandchildren.

Honors and awards

• 1990: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow (1991)
• University of Missouri School of Journalism's Medal of Honor
• William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit
• George Foster Peabody Award
• Fred Friendly First Amendment Award,
• Emmy Award
• National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle (1999)
• Television Hall of Fame (1999)
• National Humanities Medal (1999)

Bibliography

Lehrer signing copies of his book at the National Press Club Book Fair in 2011

Novels (One-Eyed Mack Series)

Novels (Charlie Henderson Series)

Novels (Stand-alone)

Memoirs

Screenplays

• An adaptation of White Widow has been written by Luke Wilson
• Viva Max! (1969) writing credit with Elliott Baker
• The Last Debate (2000) writing credit with Jon Maas

Plays

• The Will and Bart Show
• Church Key Charlie Blue
• Chili Queen

Further reading

• Art at Our Doorstep: San Antonio Writers and Artists featuring Jim Lehrer. Edited by Nan Cuba and Riley Robinson (Trinity University Press, 2008).

External links

• Biography on PBS NewsHour
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Jim Lehrer at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Jim Lehrer in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• 1998 UW Commencement Speech on YouTube
• Write TV Public Television Interview with Jim Lehrer
• Jim Lehrer interview video at the Archive of American Television
• A conversation with Jim Lehrer, on The Media Report, May 10, 2007
• Jim Lehrer discusses his novel, The Phony Marine (video)

Media offices
Preceded by Robert MacNeil	NewsHour/PBS NewsHour anchor 1975–2011	Succeeded by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff
Notes and references
1. Lehrer co-anchored with MacNeil from 1975 to 1995.