James Charles Lehrer (pronounced ) (born May 19, 1934) is the news anchor for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. Lehrer is also an acclaimed author, writing both non-fiction and fiction which draws on his life experiences and his interests in history and politics.

History

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Lehrer was born in Wichita, Kansas and attended middle school in Beaumont, Texas. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he was one of the three sports editors at the Jefferson Declaration. He graduated from Victoria College and the University of Missouri.

After three years in the United States Marine Corps, he began his news career in Dallas, first as a newspaperman, and then later as the anchor on a local news show. Lehrer started work with PBS in 1972, and in 1975 started The MacNeil/Lehrer Report with Robert MacNeil. The show was later renamed The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and in its most recent incarnation is known as The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Nicknamed the "Dean of Moderators"^* by CNN's Bernard Shaw, Lehrer has been the moderator for ten debates among candidates vying for President of the United States of America. Most recently he moderated the first presidential debate between George W. Bush and John Kerry during the 2004 election campaign on September 30, 2004.

Lehrer is well known as a bus enthusiast. He is a major 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, he worked as a Trailways ticket agent.

He is married to the novelist Kate Lehrer, and has three children and six grandchildren. He was awarded the Presidential National Humanities Medal in 1999.

Written works

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Note: This list is incomplete.

Books

• The Franklin Affair (Random House, 2005) ISBN 1400061989
• False Moves (Random House, 2005) ISBN 1400061989
• Flying Crows: A Novel (Random House, 2004) ISBN 1400061970
• 20 Good Reasons to Study the Civil War by John C. Waugh, Jim Lehrer (McWhiney Foundation Press, 2004) ISBN 1893114465
• No Certain Rest (Random House, 2002) ISBN 0375503722
• The Special Prisoner (Random House, 2000) ISBN 0375503714
• White Widow (Random House, 1999) ISBN 0517361485
• Purple Dots (Random House, 1998) ISBN 0679452370
• The Last Debate (Random House, 1997) ISBN 0517177617
• Fine Lines (Random House, 1995) ISBN 0517164353
• Blue Hearts (Random House, 1993) ISBN 0679422161
• A Bus of My Own (Putnam, 1992) ISBN 0399137653
• Short List (Putnam, 1992) ISBN 0399136657
• Lost and Found (Putnam, 1991) ISBN 0399136010
• The Sooner Spy (Putnam, 1990) ISBN 0399135367
• Crown Oklahoma (Putnam, 1989) ISBN 0399134344
• Kick the Can (Putnam, 1988) ISBN 039913350X
• We Were Dreamers (Atheneum, 1975) ISBN 0689106939
• Viva Max!

Films

Viva Max! (1970) writing credit with Elliott Baker

Plays

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

References

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External links

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• PBS biography

External links

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• Homepage of PBS' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
• The Newshour with Jim Lehrer Biography
• Archive of American Television interview

1934 births | Living people | PBS television network | Broadcast news analysts | Wichitans | United States Marine Corps officers