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. He attended middle school in Beaumont, Texas, and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio, TX) where he was one of the three sports editors for the Jefferson Declaration. He graduated with A.A. from Victoria College in Texas, and with 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 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.

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.

He began his TV career at Dallas KERA-TV as executive director of public affairs, on-air host, and editor of a nightly news program. He then 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). Next, Lehrer 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 1st, 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.

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.

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

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. And, in 2004, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Journalism degree by McDaniel College.

Presidential debate moderator

Nicknamed the "Dean of Moderators" by CNN's Bernard Shaw, Lehrer has moderated 12 presidential candidate debates, including the first presidential debate between senators Barack Obama and John McCain on September 26, 2008. Lehrer has been involved in several debate-related projects, including the Debating Our Destiny documentaries in 2000 and 2008. The documentaries feature excerpts of Lehrer's exclusive interviews with most of the presidential and vice presidential candidates since 1976.

Lehrer hosted the first United States presidential election debate for the 2012 U.S. presidential general election. He originally had sworn off moderating any debates after 2008, but the Commission on Presidential Debates persisted, and he accepted, interested in a new format. 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, Lehrer came under criticism by some on social media and in the press for his lack of control and open-ended questions. Conversely, he was also praised for letting the candidates have some control in the debate in their own terms.

Personal life

Lehrer is an avid bus enthusiast and hobbyist. 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.

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.

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

Honors and awards

• 1990: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association
• 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)

Bibliography

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
• 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

[ Source: Wikipedia ]