Jim Lehrer

Jim Lehrer
Lehrer at the 2007 Texas Book Festival
Born	James Charles Lehrer 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/;^[1]—born May 19, 1934) is an American journalist and a 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.^[2]

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.^[3] He attended middle school in Beaumont, Texas, and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio, TX) where he was a sports editor for the Jefferson Declaration. He graduated with an A.A. from Victoria College in Texas, and a 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^[4] 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.^[5]

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.

Lehrer began his TV career at Dallas KERA-TV as the Executive Director of Public Affairs, an on-air host, and Editor of a nightly news program. He 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). He 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.^[2]

Lehrer underwent a heart valve surgery in April 2008, and, while he recuperated, Ray Suarez anchored in his stead until his return on 28 June 2008.^[6]

On 12 May 2011, Lehrer announced he would be stepping down as anchor of PBS NewsHour on 6 June 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.^[7]

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. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Journalism degree by McDaniel College.^[8]

Presidential debate moderator

Lehrer has been involved in several U.S. Presidential Debate-related projects, including the Debating Our Destiny Documentaries in 2000 and 2008, that feature excerpts of exclusive interviews with many of the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates since 1976.^[9] Nicknamed The Dean of Moderators by Bernard Shaw, formerly of CNN, Lehrer has moderated 12 Presidential Debates.^[10]

Lehrer hosted the first U.S. Presidential Debate for the 2012 U.S. Presidential general election. He originally had sworn off moderating any debates after 2008; however, the Commission on Presidential Debates persisted, and he accepted as he was interested in the new format.^[11] 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, while he was criticized on social media and in the press for his lack of control and open-ended questions, he was praised for letting the candidates have some control in the debate on their own terms.^[12][13]

Personal life

Lehrer is an avid bus enthusiast and hobbyist.^[14][15] 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.^[2]

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.^[16] His most recent play BELL, was produced by the National Geographic Society as part of their 125th anniversary celebration.

He is married to the novelist Kate Lehrer. They have three daughters and six grandchildren.^[2]

Honors and awards

• 1990: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association^[17]
• 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^[18]
• 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)
• Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.^[19] (2008)

Bibliography

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

Novels (One-Eyed Mack Series)

• Lehrer, Jim (1988). Kick the Can. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-13350-X.
• Lehrer, Jim (1989). Crown Oklahoma. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-13434-4.
• Lehrer, Jim (1990). The Sooner Spy. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-13536-7.
• Lehrer, Jim (1991). Lost and Found. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-13601-0.
• Lehrer, Jim (1992). Short List. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-13665-7.
• Lehrer, Jim (1994). Fine Lines. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-517-16435-3.

Novels (Charlie Henderson Series)

• Lehrer, Jim (1993). Blue Hearts. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-42216-1.
• Lehrer, Jim (1998). Purple Dots. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-45237-0.

Novels (Stand-alone)

• Lehrer, Jim (1966). Viva Max!. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce. ASIN B001TNUMVE.
• Lehrer, Jim (1995). The Last Debate. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-517-17761-7.
• Lehrer, Jim (1996). White Widow. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-45236-2.
• Lehrer, Jim (2000). The Special Prisoner. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50371-4.
• Lehrer, Jim (2002). No Certain Rest. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50372-2.
• Lehrer, Jim (2004). Flying Crows: A Novel. New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6197-0.
• Lehrer, Jim (2005). The Franklin Affair. New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6198-9.
• Lehrer, Jim (2006). The Phony Marine. New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6486-4.
• Lehrer, Jim (2007). Eureka. New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6487-2.
• Lehrer, Jim (2009). Oh, Johnny. New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6762-6.
• Lehrer, Jim (2010). Super. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6763-3.
• Lehrer, Jim (2013). Top Down: A Novel of the Kennedy Assassination. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6916-3.

Memoirs

• Lehrer, Jim (1975). We Were Dreamers. New York: Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-10693-9.
• Lehrer, Jim (1992). A Bus of My Own. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-13765-3.
• Lehrer, Jim (2011). Tension City. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6917-0.

Screenplays

• An adaptation of White Widow has been written by Luke Wilson^[20][21]
• 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
• "Bell"

References

1. "Oxford English Dictionary Entry for Jim Lehrer". Oxford Dictionaries. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
2. "About Us: Jim Lehrer, Executive Editor". The PBS NewsHour. 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
3. "Jim Lehrer Biography (1934–)". film reference. 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
4. Jim Lehrer (November 10, 2006). "Jim Lehrer Reflects on Marines at Museum Dedication". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
5. Jim Lehrer (June 8, 2008). "Commencement speech of Jim Lehrer". Harvard University. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
6. The Associated Press (25 April 2008). "NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer Has Heart surgery". The International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
7. Farhi, Paul (May 12, 2011). "Jim Lehrer to step down from daily broadcast at 'NewsHour'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
8. The Baltimore Sun - "McDaniel's Commencement is Saturday; Jim and Kate Lehrer to Get Honorary Degrees," 16 May 2004.
9. "Jim Lehrer Hosts Debating our Destiny". PBS.org. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions in association with the Commission on Presidential Debates and WETA. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
10. Associated Press (29 September 2004). "Jim Lehrer: 'The Dean of Moderators'". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
11. Stelter, Brian; Shear, Michael D. (4 October 2012). "Criticism Greets List of Debate Moderators". The New York Times, USA. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
12. Bauder, David (4 October 2012). "Tough Reviews for Jim Lehrer as Debate Moderator". San Francisco Chronicle, California, USA. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
13. "Jim Lehrer's Debate Performance Criticized, Defended, and Analyzed". The Washington Post, USA. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
14. Lehrer, Jim - "A Bus of My Own", New York: Putnam - 1992. ISBN 0-399-13765-3.
15. Hari Sreenivasan - "Jim Lehrer's 'Super' Office Tour", On the Road, PBS, 16 April 2010.
16. Lehrer, Jim - "Top Down: A Novel of the Kennedy Assassination", New York: Random House, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4000-6916-3.
17. "Paul White Award". Radio Television Digital News Association. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
18. Peabody Awards won by Jim Lehrer , accessed September 2014.
19. Arizona State University. "Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
20. Simon, Brent (August 13, 2008). "Luke Wilson Wants to Direct... Again". Shared Darkness. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
21. Truitt, Brian (September 8, 2010). "Luke Wilson shoots for the top in 'Middle Men'". USA Today. Retrieved October 4, 2012.

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 on Charlie Rose
• 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)