Jim Lehrer Dead - PBS Anchorman Dies at 85

Jim Lehrer has sadly died.

The longtime anchorman, who worked on television for nearly four decades before his 2011 retirement, died at 85 at his home on Thursday (January 23), PBS announced.

He worked for more than two decades alongside Robert MacNeil on PBS, including their Emmy Award-winning Watergate coverage in 1973. The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour became the country’s first hour-long evening news program. The show became PBS NewsHour in 2009 prior to his retirement.

“I’m heartbroken at the loss of someone who was central to my professional life, a mentor to me and someone whose friendship I’ve cherished for decades. I’ve looked up to him as the standard for fair, probing and thoughtful journalism and I know countless others who feel the same way,” said PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff.

Our thoughts are with Jim‘s loved ones at this difficult time.