“I have an old-fashioned view that news is not a
commodity. News is information that’s required in a democratic society, and
Thomas Jefferson said a democracy is dependent on an informed citizenry. That
sounds corny, but I don’t care whether it sounds corny or not. It’s the truth.”
—Jim Lehrer (1934-2020), veteran PBS newsman,
American Journalism Review, 2001. Image: Lehrer, left, with longtime PBS partner Robert MacNeil, 1988/Ed Lallo
“Jim Lehrer is no showboat. That is a considerable
distinction for television, where the interrogators are often bigger than their
guests or victims. This man of modest mien keeps the spotlight on the person
being questioned. His somewhat halting conversational manner invites rather
than commands. And his professional principles dispel any fears that he is out
to get not just his guests’ point of view but also the guests themselves.”
—Walter Goodman, reporter, “A
Cool Head at the Eye of the Storm,” The New York Times, 1996.
“Admirers of ‘The MacNeil/Lehrer Report’ — and there are
many of them — often talk about it in terms normally reserved for unpalatable
but nutritious breakfast foods: unalluring, perhaps, to the frivolous new
consumer, but packed full of fiber.”
—Alexander Cockburn, political commentator, “The Tedium Twins,”
Harper’s Magazine, 1982.
• Editorial Comment: A voice of reason. Thank you for your service, Mr. Lehrer.
Hydrangea
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