Lehrer, a Wichita native, served three years as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps before working as a newspaperman in Dallas for 10 years and then as the host of a local experimental news program on public television.

He came to Washington with PBS in 1972 and teamed with Robert MacNeil in 1973 to cover the Senate Watergate hearings. In 1975 they started what became "The MacNeil/Lehrer Report" and then the "MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour" in 1983, the first 60-minute evening news program on television. The program became "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" in 1995 when MacNeil retired.

Lehrer has received numerous awards for his work, including a presidential National Humanities Medal in 1999. He also has moderated 10 of the nationally televised candidate debates in the last five presidential elections.

Lehrer is the author of 14 novels. His latest, "Flying Crows," was published in May 2004. He also has written two memoirs and three plays.