Jim Lehrer Stepping Down as Anchor of ‘PBS NewsHour'

Will leave regular role effective June 6

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/12/2011 11:22:27 AM

Jim Lehrer will step down as a regular anchor of PBS NewsHour, effective June 6, it was announced Thursday.

Lehrer said he would still appear on many Friday evenings to moderate the weekly analysis of syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks and will also remain involved in the editorial direction of the broadcast.

"I have been laboring in the glories of daily journalism for 52 years ... 36 of them here at the NewsHour and its earlier incarnations ... and there comes a time to step aside from the daily process, and that time has arrived," Lehrer said in a statement.

In December 2009 The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer transitioned to a multi-anchor format and was renamed PBS NewsHour. The current team of senior correspondents Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff, Jeffrey Brown, Ray Suarez and Margaret Warner will continue hosting the broadcast on a rotating basis.

Lehrer has been with the program since its beginning, starting as the Washington correspondent for the newscast when it launched in October 1975 as the Robert MacNeil Report on Thirteen/WNET New York.