Jim Lehrer

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James Charles Lehrer (born May 19, 1934) is an American journalist and novelist. Lehrer is the former Executive Editor and a former News Anchor for the PBS NewsHour on PBS, and is known for his role as a Debate Moderator in U.S. Presidential Election campaigns.

He is an author of numerous fiction and non-fiction books that draw upon his experience as a newsman, along with his interests in history and politics.

Early life and education

James Charles Lehrer was born on May 19, 1934, in Wichita, Kansas. His mother, Lois Catherine (née Chapman), was a teacher and bank clerk, and his father, Harry Frederick Lehrer, was a bus station manager. His paternal grandparents were German immigrants. His maternal grandfather was J. B. Chapman, a prominent Church of the Nazarene figure. Jim had an older brother, Fred, who was a baptist minister. He attended school in Wichita, middle school in Beaumont, Texas, and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, where he was a sports editor for the Jefferson Declaration. He graduated with an associate degree from Victoria College, and a bachelor's degree in journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in 1956.

After graduating from college, Lehrer followed his father and older brother, and joined the United States Marine Corps serving for three years as an infantry officer in the late 1950's. He attributed his service and travels with helping him to look beyond himself and feel a connection to the world that he would not have otherwise experienced.

Personal life

For six decades until his death, Lehrer was married to Kate Lehrer, who is also a novelist. They had three daughters and six grandchildren. His father was a bus driver who briefly operated a bus company. Lehrer was an avid bus enthusiast, a hobbyist, and a collector of bus memorabilia, including depot signs, driver caps, and antique toy buses. As a college student in the 1950s, he worked as a Trailways ticket agent in Victoria, Texas. He also was a supporter of the Pacific Bus Museum in Williams, California, and the Museum of Bus Transportation in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Lehrer was a prolific writer and authored numerous novels, as well as several plays, screenplays, and three personal memoirs. His book, Top Down, is a novel based on the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination. His last play, Bell, was produced by the National Geographic Society as part of their 125th anniversary celebration.

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Career

Lehrer began his journalistic work at The Dallas Morning News in Texas in 1959. He began as a reporter with the Dallas Times Herald, where he covered John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. He served as a political columnist there for many years, and in 1968, he became the city editor.

Lehrer began his television work at KERA-TV in Dallas, Texas, as the executive director of Public Affairs, an on-air host, and editor of a nightly news show. In 1972, he went to PBS in Washington, D.C., to become the Public Affairs Coordinator, a member of the Journalism Advisory Board, and a Fellow at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). He worked as a reporter for the National Public Affairs Center for Television (NPACT), where he met Robert MacNeil. They covered the Senate Watergate hearings and the unveiling of the Watergate Tapes on PBS in 1973 (This coverage of the hearings would later inspire and inspire The MacNeil/Lehrer Report). President Richard Nixon's impeachment probe was covered by Lehrer on the House Judiciary Committee.

Lehrer became the Washington reporter for The Robert MacNeil Report on Thirteen/WNET New York in October 1975. He was promoted to co-anchor two months later on December 1, 1975, and the MacNeil/Lehrer Report was subsequently renamed. Following MacNeil's demise in 1995, Lehrer and MacNeil relaunched their show as The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, which was renamed The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. In 2009, PBS NewsHour was renamed the PBS NewsHour.

Lehrer decided not to vote in order to preserve objectivity.

In April 2008, a teacher underwent heart valve surgery, allowing Ray Suarez, Gwen Ifill, and Judy Woodruff to anchor in their positions until the teacher's return on June 26, 2008.

On June 6, 2011, Lehrer resigned as the PBS NewsHour's anchor, but he continued to moderate the Friday news analysis segments and be affiliated with MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, the show's production company.

During his career in journalism, Lehrer received numerous awards and accolades, including several Emmys; the George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award; a William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit; and the University of Missouri School of Journalism's Medal of Honor. McDaniel College gave him an honorary Doctor of Journalism degree in 2004.

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Honors and awards

• Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association (1990)
• Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (1990)
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences member (elected in 1991)
• University of Missouri School of Journalism's Medal of Honor
• William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit
• Peabody Award
• Fred Friendly First Amendment Award
• Two Emmy Awards
• Silver Circle of the Washington D.C. chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (1999)
• Television Hall of Fame (1999)
• National Humanities Medal (1999)
• Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism (2008)