Jim Lehrer died today at age 85. He was a throwback to a better time in journalism. After graduating from the University of Missouri, he served three years as a Marine Corps infantry officer, an experience he viewed as extremely valuable in teaching him about the world. He will always be remembered as half of the McNeil-Lehrer news hour on NPR. It was a favorite show of mine and the co-anchors did seem to attempt to give an objective factual account of the events of the day, a lost art now in Journalism. He and his one and only wife were just shy of their 60th anniversary. I will miss him. May he now be covering the big stories in the Kindgom of Love Eternal.
Jim Lehrer: Requiescat in Pace
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
There was a time in the late 80’s I watched the McNeil-Lehrer news hour every day. It was good then. At some point I stopped watching when the time was no longer convenient. Several years later it was quite a changed show and since the late Bush 2’s years, impossible to watch. I pray he’s in a better place.
Like JFK above, I too once watched the McNeil-Lehrer news hour until it became so hopelessly biased leftward in contradiction to Jim Lehrer’s stated principles. In the 2000s I stopped watching it altogether. Right now I think govt financing of all public broadcasting like NPR and PBS should cease.
As for Jim Lehrer, may his soul rest in peace.