Jim Lehrer Explained

Birth Name:James Charles Lehrer
Birth Date:19 May 1934
Birth Place:Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Death Place:Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education:University of Missouri (BA)
Years Active:1959–2012
Children:3
Relatives:J. B. Chapman (grandfather)

James Charles Lehrer (;[1] May 19, 1934 – January 23, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright.[2] He was the executive editor and a news anchor for the PBS NewsHour on PBS and was known for his role as a debate moderator during U.S. presidential election campaigns, moderating twelve presidential debates between 1988 and 2012. Lehrer authored numerous fiction and non-fiction books that drew 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, was a teacher and bank clerk, and his father, Harry Frederick Lehrer, was a bus station manager.[3] [4] His paternal grandparents were German immigrants. His maternal grandfather was J. B. Chapman, a prominent Church of the Nazarene figure.[5] [6] Jim had an older brother, Fred, who was a Baptist minister.[7] [8] He attended school in Wichita,[3] 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 1950s.[9] [10] 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.[11]

Career

In 1959, Lehrer began his career in journalism at The Dallas Morning News in Texas. Later, he worked as a reporter for the Dallas Times Herald, where he covered the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. He was a political columnist there for several years, and in 1968 he became the city editor.[12]

Lehrer began his television career at KERA-TV in Dallas, Texas, as the executive director of Public Affairs, an on-air host, and editor of a nightly news program.[13] In 1972, he moved to PBS in Washington, D.C., to become the Public Affairs Coordinator, a member of Journalism Advisory Board, and a Fellow at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).[14] 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 (This coverage of the hearings would later help lead to and be the inspiration for what would eventually become The MacNeil/Lehrer Report).[15] Lehrer covered the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry of President 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, 1975, he 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 was renamed The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, following MacNeil's departure in 1995. The program was renamed the PBS NewsHour in 2009.[16]

In order to maintain objectivity, Lehrer chose not to vote.[17]

Lehrer underwent a heart valve surgery in April 2008, allowing Ray Suarez, Gwen Ifill, and Judy Woodruff to anchor in their stead until Lehrer's return on June 26, 2008.[18] He had recovered from a minor heart attack in 1983 when he was 49 years old.[19]

Lehrer stepped down as anchor of the PBS NewsHour on June 6, 2011, but continued to moderate the Friday news analysis segments and be involved with the show's production company, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions.[20]

Lehrer received several awards and honors during his career in journalism, including 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.[21] [22]

Presidential debate moderator

Lehrer was involved in several projects related to U.S. presidential debates, including the Debating Our Destiny documentaries in 2000 and 2008, which feature excerpts of exclusive interviews with many of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates since 1976.[23] Nicknamed "The Dean of Moderators" by journalist Bernard Shaw, Lehrer moderated twelve presidential debates between 1988 and 2012.[24] In 2016, Lehrer served on the board of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).[25]

The last debate that Lehrer moderated was the first general election debate of the 2012 election. He had originally sworn off moderating any debates after 2008; however, the CPD persisted, and he accepted as he was interested in the new format.[26] The debate was held at the University of Denver and covered domestic policy issues. Lehrer's performance as a moderator, in which he frequently allowed the candidates to exceed the given time limits, received mixed reviews; while he received criticism for his lenient enforcement of time rules and open-ended questions, his approach also received praise for letting the candidates have some control in the debate on their own terms.[27] [28]

Debates Moderated by Jim Lehrer
DateDebateTypeDemocraticCandidateRepublicanCandidateIndependentCandidate
Sunday, September 25, 1988PresidentialMichael DukakisGeorge H. W. Bush—
Sunday, October 11, 1992Bill ClintonRoss Perot
Monday, October 19, 1992
Sunday, October 6, 1996Bob Dole—
Wednesday, October 16, 1996
Wednesday, October 9, 1996Vice PresidentialAl GoreJack Kemp
Tuesday, October 3, 2000PresidentialGeorge W. Bush
Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Tuesday, October 17, 2000
Thursday, September 30, 2004John Kerry
Friday, September 26, 2008Barack ObamaJohn McCain
Wednesday October 3, 2012Mitt Romney

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.[29] [30] 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 Fremont, 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.[31] His last play, Bell, was produced by the National Geographic Society as part of their 125th anniversary celebration.[32]

Death

On January 23, 2020, Lehrer died from a heart attack at his home in Washington, D.C., at the age of 85.[33] [34]

Honors and awards

Bibliography

Novels

Memoirs

Screenplays

Plays

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Oxford English Dictionary Entry for Jim Lehrer . December 1, 2016 . Oxford Dictionaries . December 1, 2016 . December 2, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161202101307/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/lehrer,_jim . dead .
  2. News: Jim Lehrer: 'The Dean of Moderators' nightly newscast, dead at 85 . As an anchor of several iterations of the NewsHour, Jim reported the news with a clear sense of purpose and integrity, even as the world of media changed around him. . Elisha . Fieldstadt . . January 23, 2020.
  3. News: Jim Lehrer, Longtime PBS News Anchor, Is Dead at 85. McFadden. Robert D.. January 23, 2020. The New York Times. January 23, 2020. en-US. 0362-4331. January 23, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200123190313/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/media/jim-lehrer-dead.html. live.
  4. Book: Current Biography Yearbook. 1988. H. W. Wilson Company. 48. 350. en. 2446272.
  5. Web site: Lehrer takes his own advice: make sure it matters to you . Stewart . David . April 6, 1998 . Current. January 24, 2020.
  6. News: SNU Celebration Features Jim Lehrer . Gilmore . Joan . October 15, 1999 . The Journal Record. January 24, 2020.
  7. News: McFadden. Robert D.. 2020-01-23. Jim Lehrer, Longtime PBS News Anchor, Is Dead at 85. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-02-12. 0362-4331.
  8. Web site: Stewart. David. Jim Lehrer takes his own advice: Make sure it matters to you. 2022-02-12. Current. April 6, 1998 . en-US.
  9. Web site: Jim Lehrer . Jim Lehrer Reflects on Marines at Museum Dedication . . November 10, 2006 . May 3, 2011.
  10. Web site: 2020-01-23 . Remembering Jim Lehrer . 2022-06-23 . PBS NewsHour . en-us.
  11. Web site: Jim Lehrer . Commencement speech of Jim Lehrer . Harvard University . June 8, 2008 . September 28, 2008.
  12. Web site: Jim Lehrer – American Journalist and Author . August 30, 2011 . Encyclopædia Britannica . Britannica.com . December 9, 2016.
  13. Web site: Jim Lehrer, PBS NewsHour Anchor Who Got His TV Start At KERA, Dead At 85 . Jones . Gabrielle . keranews.org . January 23, 2020 . en. January 23, 2020.
  14. Book: Lauderville, Kristen D. . Encyclopedia of Political Communication . 2008 . SAGE . 978-1-4129-1799-5. Kaid. Lynda Lee . 401 . en . Lehrer, Jim (1934–). Holtz-Bacha. Christina. https://books.google.com/books?id=-woKG0HTstwC&pg=PT443.
  15. Web site: Covering Watergate: 40 Years Later With MacNeil And Lehrer . May 16, 2013 . PBS NewsHour . January 23, 2020 . December 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220173414/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/covering-watergate-40-years-later-with-macneil-and-lehrer . live .
  16. Web site: About Us: Jim Lehrer, Executive Editor . The PBS NewsHour . 2012 . February 4, 2013 . March 11, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140311150520/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/spc/news/jimlehrer/ . live .
  17. Web site: Jim Lehrer: Master of moderation . September 29, 2012 . Politico . politico.com . January 29, 2020 . December 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220173426/https://www.politico.com/story/2012/09/the-master-of-moderation-081806?o=3 . live .
  18. News: The Associated Press . NewsHour Anchor Jim Lehrer Has Heart Surgery . The International Herald Tribune . April 25, 2008 . September 26, 2008 . September 3, 2012 . https://archive.today/20120903234940/http://www.nytimes.com/marketing/iht/search/?iht . live .
  19. News: 1983-12-15 . Lehrer Has Heart Attack . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-11-19 . 0362-4331.
  20. News: Paul . Farhi . Jim Lehrer to step down from daily broadcast at 'NewsHour' . . May 12, 2011 . May 12, 2011 . December 2, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161202171426/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jim-lehrer-to-step-down-from-daily-broadcast-at-pbs-newshour/2011/05/12/AFS5VwyG_story.html . live .
  21. Web site: Home | McDaniel . www.mcdaniel.edu . January 24, 2020 . December 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220173421/https://www.mcdaniel.edu/ . live .
  22. The Baltimore Sun – "McDaniel's Commencement is Saturday; Jim and Kate Lehrer to Get Honorary Degrees", May 16, 2004.
  23. Web site: Jim Lehrer Hosts Debating our Destiny . MacNeil/Lehrer Productions in association with the Commission on Presidential Debates and WETA . PBS.org . December 31, 2008 . December 1, 2016 . December 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220173431/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/spc/debatingourdestiny/ . live .
  24. News: Associated Press . Jim Lehrer: 'The Dean of Moderators' . NBC News . September 29, 2004 . September 26, 2008 . December 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220173435/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6133830 . live .
  25. News: Jim Lehrer Offers Advice to Debate Moderators: It's Not About You (Q&A) . Guthrie . Marisa . September 26, 2016 . June 16, 2019 . . December 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220173426/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/jim-lehrer-offers-advice-debate-932369/ . live .
  26. Web site: Brian . Stelter . Michael D. . Shear . Criticism Greets List of Debate Moderators . The New York Times . October 4, 2012 . October 4, 2012 . March 10, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180310061458/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/18/us/criticism-greets-list-of-debate-moderators.html . live .
  27. News: David . Bauder . Tough Reviews for Jim Lehrer as Debate Moderator . October 4, 2012 . . San Francisco Chronicle, California. October 4, 2012.
  28. News: Jim Lehrer's Debate Performance Criticized, Defended, and Analyzed . The Washington Post . October 4, 2012 . October 4, 2012 . December 2, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161202171206/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/jim-lehrers-debate-performance-criticized-defended-and-analyzed/2012/10/04/62d09810-0e19-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html . live .
  29. Lehrer, Jim – "A Bus of My Own", New York: Putnam – 1992. .
  30. Hari Sreenivasan – "Jim Lehrer's 'Super' Office Tour", On the Road, PBS, April 16, 2010.https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/04/jim-lehrers-super-office-tour.html
  31. Lehrer, Jim – "Top Down: A Novel of the Kennedy Assassination", New York: Random House, 2013. .
  32. Web site: National Geographic Society Brings 'Bell' To Life . Sheir . Rebecca . September 6, 2013 . WAMU . en. January 24, 2020.
  33. Web site: Remembering Jim Lehrer . Davenport . Anne Azzi . Brown . Jeffrey . January 23, 2020 . . . January 23, 2020 . January 24, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200124203405/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/remembering-jim-lehrer . live .
  34. News: Jim Lehrer, understated PBS news anchor and presidential debate moderator, dies at 85. Schudel. Matt. January 23, 2020. The Washington Post. February 3, 2020. February 1, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200201102751/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/jim-lehrer-low-key-pbs-news-anchor-and-presidential-debate-moderator-dies-at-85/2020/01/23/21bba796-3e0b-11ea-8872-5df698785a4e_story.html. live.
  35. Web site: Paul White Award . . May 27, 2014 . February 25, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130225052416/http://rtdna.org/content/paul_white_award#.U4FBHS8-Ngc . live .
  36. Web site: Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement. www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement. December 1, 2020. December 15, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/. live.
  37. Web site: James C. Lehrer, member profile . . January 23, 2020 . June 17, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200617233726/https://www.amacad.org/person/james-c-lehrer . live .
  38. http://www.peabodyawards.com/results/jim%20lehrer/1/null/null/title/asc Peabody Awards won by Jim Lehrer
  39. Web site: Arizona State University . Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication . November 23, 2016 . March 25, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160325155545/https://cronkite.asu.edu/about/walter-cronkite-and-asu/walter-cronkite-award . live .
  40. Web site: Simon . Brent . Luke Wilson Wants to Direct... Again . Shared Darkness . October 4, 2012 . August 13, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131126234622/http://shareddarkness.com/2008/08/13/luke-wilson-future-project.aspx . November 26, 2013.
  41. News: Truitt . Brian . Luke Wilson shoots for the top in 'Middle Men' . October 4, 2012 . USA Today . September 8, 2010 . March 16, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160316210222/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2010-08-09-lukewilson09_ST_N.htm . live .
  42. News: Screen: 'Viva Max' and the History of the Alamo: Peter Ustinov Stars in Music Hall Comedy Jerry Paris Is Director of 24-Hour Siege . Canby . Vincent . January 23, 1970 . The New York Times . January 24, 2020 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095209/https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A02EFD91F39EF34BC4B51DFB766838B669EDE . March 4, 2016 .
  43. Web site: Camp Pain . Leonard . John . November 6, 2000 . New York Magazine . en-us . January 24, 2020 . November 19, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181119022807/http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/tv/reviews/4002/ . live .
  44. Web site: 'Debate' stirs Showtime . Bernstein . Paula . June 20, 2000 . Variety . en . January 24, 2020 . May 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200528232340/https://variety.com/2000/tv/news/debate-stirs-showtime-1117782807/ . live .
  45. Web site: PBS' Jim Lehrer Serves His Chili Queen in L.A. Feb. 20 . Playbill . February 20, 1998 . January 23, 2020 . January 25, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200125110857/http://www.playbill.com/article/pbs-jim-lehrer-serves-his-chili-queen-in-la-feb-20-com-73537 . live .
  46. News: An Anchor Tells Stories Onstage, but Off Camera . Laura Bennett . The New York Times . September 11, 2013 . January 23, 2020 . September 12, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130912171005/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/theater/jim-lehrers-new-play-bell-is-opening-in-washington.html . live .

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