Jim Lehrer Dies, Longtime PBS News Anchor Passes Away At 85

Jim Lehrer, the legendary news anchor who was a fixture on PBS for decades, has passed away at the age of 85, PBS News reports.

Judy Woodruff, longtime friend and colleague of the newsman, announced that Lehrer passed away in his sleep Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

“It is with great sadness that I share the news that co-founder and longtime anchor of the PBS NewsHour Jim Lehrer died today, Thursday, January 23, 2020, peacefully in his sleep at home,” she said.

A Career In Journalism

Born in Wichita in 1934, Lehrer got his education in journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, and then later served in the Marine Corps for a few years. He would later tell a Harvard graduating class that it was his years in the Marines that helped him think of the world as something larger than his own experiences.

Lehrer got his start in journalism working for Dallas area newspapers. One major incident that he covered in those days was the assassination of John F. Kennedy as his motorcade came through the city.

In the early 1970s, Lehrer met fellow journalist Robert MacNeil. Their friendship and professional relationship would later take the form of a decades-long collaboration, hosting a news report, under various names, on PBS affiliates across the country.

Moderating Presidential Debates

Between 1988 and 2012, Lehrer would moderate 12 presidential debates and even served on the Commission for Presidential Debates.

So fair and even-keeled was Lehrer as a debate moderator that Bernard Shaw, himself a frequent debate moderator, nicknamed his colleague the “Dean of Debate Moderators,” as The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2019.

Lehrer’s last presidential debate was the Mitt Romney-Barack Obama debate of 2012, but not everyone was fond of Lehrer’s moderating style. He was rather lax about enforcing time limits when candidates were speaking, drawing criticism from some analysts. Still, debate candidates expressed their appreciation for Lehrer allowing them to fully express their points without the constraints of the clock.

Lehrer’s Legacy

Those whose careers in journalism meant that they got to work with Lehrer are offering up praise for the legendary anchor.

Judy Woodruff, who now anchors the show that Lehrer once anchored for decades, PBS NewsHour, called him a “mentor” and a “friend” and said she was “heartbroken” at his passing.

Similarly, PBS President Paula Kerger called Lehrer a “true giant in news and public affairs.”

Lehrer is survived by his wife of 60 years, Kate Lehrer, as well as three children and six grandchildren as of 2013, according to PBS News.