Jim Lehrer's Education Background

Jim Lehrer was born on May 19, 1934 to Lois Catherine and Harry Lehrer in Wichita, Kansas. Lehrer is a well-known American journalist and is the news anchor for PBS Newshour. He is sometimes called the “Dean of Moderators” because he has presided over 11 presidential candidate debates, including the most recent debate between President Obama and McCain. EDUinReview will now take a look at the education background of this talented television newscaster.
Lehrer was born in Kansas and spent his early childhood there, but his family moved to Texas before he was in middle school. He attended middle school in Beaumont, Texas and high school in San Antonio, Texas. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, where he was a sports editor for The Jefferson Declaration, the school’s newspaper.

After high school, Lehrer decided to pursue a higher education at Victoria College. He then transferred to the University of Missouri, where he earned a journalism degree.
Upon competition of his higher education, Lehrer decided to join the military. He enlisted in the United States Marines, and credits this experience with showing him parts of the world that he would not have been able to see without serving in the military.
Lehrer returned to Texas after his tour with the Marines was finished. He secured a job as a reporter for the Dallas-Times Herald in 1963; one of his first major assignments was reporting President Kennedy’s assassination. Lehrer was a very busy man at this time in his life; he was also a news anchor for KERA, a PBS affiliate. Since 1975, Lehrer has hosted The Lehrer News Hour for PBS, making it the second longest running news program on television.
Lehrer has received many awards for his work as a newscaster and journalist. These awards include the University of Missouri School of Journalism’s Medal of Honor, the George Foster Peabody Award, and the National Humanities Medal. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999.