James Charles Lehrer (/ˈlɛərə/LAIR-ə;[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 News Hour 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.[3]
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.[12][7] 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.[13]
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.[15] 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).[4] 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).[16] Lehrer covered the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry of President Richard Nixon.[16]
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.[3]
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 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]
Lehrer signing copies of his book, Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, From Kennedy–Nixon to Obama–McCain, at the National Press Club Book Fair in 2011
For six decades until his death, Lehrer was married to Kate Lehrer, who is also a novelist. They had three daughters and six grandchildren.[3] 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.[3]
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]
^"Home | McDaniel". www.mcdaniel.edu. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
^The Baltimore Sun – "McDaniel's Commencement is Saturday; Jim and Kate Lehrer to Get Honorary Degrees", May 16, 2004.
^"Jim Lehrer Hosts Debating our Destiny". PBS.org. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions in association with the Commission on Presidential Debates and WETA. December 31, 2008. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
