Jim Lehrer, Nation’s Longest-Serving Network Anchorman, To Step Down In June

by Mark Joyella | 10:37 am, May 12th, 2011

» 7 comments

The Washington Post reports Jim Lehrer, the anchor of PBS NewsHour and the longest-serving network anchor in the country, has decided to step down in June. He will continue to report for the program, and to moderate a Friday segment for the show, featuring a roundtable of journalists. The move ends a run on the program that began back in 1975. “Amid the cacophony of a sometimes shrill media landscape, he has remained the true voice of reason, balance and fairness,” said the National Press Club’s president, Mark Hamrick, when the club gave Lehrer a career achievement award last month.

As Paul Farhi writes in the Post, Lehrer is a tie to the earliest days of network news:

In addition to his familiar role on PBS, the widely respected Lehrer may be best known to American audiences as the moderator of presidential debates. He has handled that job 11 times, including one of the debates between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain in 2008.

Lehrer’s career spans several eras of television, from a time when most people had black and white sets to the digital age.

According to Farhi, Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff, Jeffrey Brown, Ray Suarez and Margaret Warner will continue to anchor the PBS newscast on a rotating basis after Lehrer departs.

Jim Lehrer, NewsHour, PBS

Barack Must Go

Jim Lehrer, Nation’s Longest-Serving Network Anchorman, To Step Down In June.

Even Jim Lehrer has had enough of Barack’s shennanagins at America’s expense.

Way to go with that ” hope & change ” bulls**t, a**hole
lane

Truly a sad day in journalism. Lehrer is truly one of the best. It’s the only newscast where you actually are informed about the world. I still watch when I’m looking for real in-depth news on a story. As a long-time occasional viewer (I still think of it as the McNeil/Lehrer hour), Gwen would be the perfect replacement. She brings the same excellence to reporting.

Lehrer should continue his presidential debate duties. He is the fairest and best at it by far.
J Baustian

None of the replacements are as fair and honest as Jim Lehrer. I can honestly say I do not know whether Lehrer is a Democrat or a Republican; but everyone on the rotating list of substitutes is clearly a Democrat.

Okay, I guess Margaret Warner might be a question mark…. probably a Democrat but she works hard to be non-partisan.
http://www.mediaite.com Mark Joyella

Wow, that’s gotta be a land speed record for twisting a post that’s not about President Obama into a partisan (and profane) commentary. Thanks, Barack Must Go, you really class this joint up.
Barack Must Go

Mark Joyella said:
Wow, that’s gotta be a land speed record for twisting a post that’s not about President Obama into a partisan (and profane) commentary. Thanks, Barack Must Go, you really class this joint up.

Don’t kid yourself. Barack had everything to do with the timing of this announcement.

Yeah, well, you guys and gals here at MEDIAite are a hard act to follow, but I do my best to keep up.
Glackin

Barack Must Go said:
Don’t kid yourself. Barack had everything to do with the timing of this announcement.

Yeah, well, you guys and gals here at MEDIAite are a hard act to follow, but I do my best to keep up.

The delusions are getting stronger, aren’t they?
Glackin

Before my thoughts were interrupted by the bile stream from BMG, i wanted to add my thanks to Mr. Lehrer for his decades of thoughtful and insightful work. I wish him well in whatever he does.

P.S. Thank you, Mark. Both for bringing the story and for marking the inability of some to throw hate into every story.