Jim Lehrer joined us on a few McCuistion programs. Working with him was an honor and an experience we will not soon forget.
Dennis on set with Jim Lehrer
He may have been the last of the journalists who took the news seriously. Today news seems to be more about entertaining and ratings and substituting personal opinions for real news, which doesn’t tie into how he viewed news should be reported.
In 2001, Jim Lehrer told the American Journalism Review: “I have an old-fashioned view that news is not a commodity.”
He’s also said, “News is information that’s required in a democratic society. Thomas Jefferson said a democracy is dependent on an informed citizenry. He went on to say, “That sounds corny, but I don’t care whether it sounds corny or not. It’s the truth.”
Jim Lehrer once commented toward a criticism of how he moderated the debates, “If somebody wants to be entertained they ought to go to the circus”.
Jim Lehrer started as a news reporter with the Dallas Morning News in 1959, before going on to its rival, The Dallas Times Herald. He worked at the Dallas PBS station before moving on to Washington DC. In DC, he covered the Water Gate hearings with Robert MacNeil and in 1975 the duo launched the MacNeil/ Lehrer Report, which eventually became the PBS NewsHour.
Jim Lehrer, dubbed the “Dean of Moderators” was renowned for moderating over 12 presidential debates. “He’s followed the cardinal rule of the moderator: Nobody’s tuning in to see or hear you,” ABC journalist Hal Bruno told The Post in 1996.
No fake news here.
Hope you enjoy watching the programs we produced with Mr. Lehrer as our honored guest as much as we did producing them.
Follow the links to watch the episodes:
Truth, Duty, and the Media (1506)
Regards:
Niki McCuistion
niki@nikimccuistion.com
Be sure to watch more McCuistion TV programs on our website www.McCuistionTV.com.
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