Jim Lehrer

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Jim Lehrer
Lehrer at the 2007 Texas Book Festival
Born	James Charles Lehrer May 19, 1934 (1934-05-19) (age 75) Wichita, Kansas, USA
Education	Victoria College University of Missouri
Occupation	Journalist, news anchor, author
Spouse	Kate Lehrer (1960-present)
Notable credit(s)	The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer The Dallas Morning News The Dallas Times Herald

James Charles Lehrer (pronounced /ˈlɛrər/; born May 19, 1934) is an American journalist and the news anchor for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, known for his role as a frequent debate moderator during elections. Lehrer is an author of non-fiction and fiction, drawing from his experiences and interests in history and politics.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early years 1.2 Career 1.3 Personal life 2 Honors and awards 3 Bibliography 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] 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.^[1] He attended middle school in Beaumont, Texas and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he was one of the three sports editors at the Jefferson Declaration. He also graduated from Victoria College in Texas and the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. 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.^[2]

[edit] Career

Lehrer began his career in journalism at The Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Times-Herald, where he covered the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. From 1970 to 1973, Lehrer anchored the local single-story news show, Newsroom on KERA-TV, the local Public Broadcasting affiliate station in Dallas. Lehrer began working with PBS network in 1973, and in 1975 developed and co-anchored The MacNeil/Lehrer Report with Robert MacNeil. The news show was later renamed The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and after MacNeil's departure in 1995 was ultimately named The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Nicknamed the "Dean of Moderators" by CNN's Bernard Shaw, Lehrer has moderated eleven presidential candidate debates,^[3] with the most recent being the presidential debate between senators Barack Obama and John McCain on September 26 2008.

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.^[4]

[edit] Personal life

Lehrer is a bus enthusiast, and is a supporter of the Pacific Bus Museum in Williams, California and the Museum of Bus Transportation in Hershey, Pennsylvania. His father was a bus driver and also briefly operated a bus company. As a college student in the 1950s, he worked as a Trailways ticket agent in Victoria, Texas.

Lehrer is married to the novelist Kate Lehrer, and has three children and six grandchildren.

[edit] Honors and awards

• 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)

[edit] Bibliography

• Lehrer, Jim (1966). Viva Max!. New York:: Duell, Sloan & Pearce. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1975). We Were Dreamers. New York: Atheneum. ISBN 0689106939. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1988). Kick the Can. New York: Putnam. ISBN 039913350X. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1989). Crown Oklahoma. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0399134344. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1990). The Sooner Spy. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0399135367. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1991). Lost and Found. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0399136010. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1992). A Bus of My Own. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0399137653. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1992). Short List. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0399136657. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1993). Blue Hearts. New York: Random House. ISBN 0679422161. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1995). Fine Lines. New York: Random House. ISBN 0517164353. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1996). White Widow. New York: Random House. ISBN 0679452362. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1997). The Last Debate. New York: Random House. ISBN 0517177617. 
• Lehrer, Jim (1998). Purple Dots. New York: Random House. ISBN 0679452370. 
• Lehrer, Jim (2000). The Special Prisoner. New York: Random House. ISBN 0375503714. 
• Lehrer, Jim (2002). No Certain Rest. New York: Random House. ISBN 0375503722. 
• Lehrer, Jim (2004). Flying Crows: A Novel. New York: Random House. ISBN 1400061970. 
• Lehrer, Jim (2005). The Franklin Affair. New York: Random House. ISBN 1400061989. 
• Lehrer, Jim (2005). False Moves. New York: Random House. ISBN 1400061989. 
• Lehrer, Jim (2006). The Phony Marine. New York: Random House. ISBN 1400064864. 
• Lehrer, Jim (2007). Eureka. New York: Random House. ISBN 1400064872. 
• Lehrer, Jim (2009). Oh, Johnny. New York: Random House. ISBN 1400067626. 

Screenplays

• White Widow screenplay is currently being written by Luke Wilson
• Viva Max! (1970) writing credit with Elliott Baker

Plays

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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• PBS biography
• Jim Lehrer at the Internet Movie Database
• 1998 UW Commencement Speech
• Homepage of PBS' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
• The Newshour with Jim Lehrer Biography
• Archive of American Television interview
• A conversation with Jim Lehrer, on The Media Report, 10 May, 2007
• Jim Lehrer discusses his novel, The Phony Marine (video)

Media offices
Preceded by Robert MacNeil	NewsHour anchor 1975 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Notes and references
1. Lehrer co-anchored with MacNeil from 1975 to 1995.

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