Jim Lehrer, co-founder and longtime anchor of 'PBS NewsHour,' dies at 85

Jim Lehrer, a longtime anchorman for PBS who appeared on the air for more than 30 years until his retirement in 2011, died Thursday at 85, the news organization announced.

Lehner died “peacefully in his sleep,” according to PBS. He had suffered a heart attack in 1983 and more recently, had undergone heart valve surgery in April 2008.

"It is with great sadness that we share the news that co-founder and anchor of @NewsHour Jim Lehrer has passed away," PBS tweeted.

In a tribute, PBS's Anne Azzi Davenport and Jeffrey Brown described Lehrer as an "anchor of several iterations of the 'NewsHour'" who "reported the news with a clear sense of purpose and integrity, even as the world of media changed around him."

Lehrer was born in 1934 in Wichita, Kansas, and attended Victoria College in Texas before studying journalism at the University of Missouri, PBS reported. He also served three years as an infantry officer in the late 1950s.

For Lehrer, and for his friend and longtime partner Robert MacNeil, broadcast journalism was a service, with public understanding of events and issues its primary goal. Lehrer was also a frequent moderator of presidential debates.

“We both believed the American people were not as stupid as some of the folks publishing and programming for them believed,” Lehrer wrote in his 1992 memoir, “A Bus of My Own.”

The half-hour “Robert MacNeil Report” began on PBS in 1975 with Lehrer as Washington correspondent. The two had already made names for themselves at the then-fledgling network through their work with the National Public Affairs Center for Television and its coverage of the Watergate hearings in 1973.

The nightly news broadcast, later retitled the “MacNeil-Lehrer Report,” became the nation’s first one-hour TV news broadcast in 1983 and was then known as the “MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour.” After MacNeil bowed out in 1995, it became “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.”

Lehrer's colleagues took to social media to pay tribute to the journalism veteran.

Fellow "NewsHour" anchor Judy Woodruff tweeted, "I am devastated to share news that my dear friend and cofounder of the @NEWSHOUR Jim Lehrer died today at home. Sending love to his Kate and their family."

Katie Couric tweeted, "Jim Lehrer was a legendary journalist and anchor. May he rest in peace."

Dan Rather called Lehrer a "gentlemen and a helluva journalist."

"In the trenches of electronic journalism over the decades, I met a lot of people. Few approached their work with more equanimity and integrity than Jim Lehrer," he continued. "He will be missed."

Nancy Pelosi said our nation "lost a champion for truth and transparency."

"As one of the founders of PBS NewsHour, as well as its longtime host, Jim Lehrer worked to keep America’s leaders accountable to the people. My prayers are with his wife, Kate, and their family," she continued.

Journalist Robert Costa called Lehrer a "friend and mentor to many."

"What a life. What a journalist. A sad day but his legacy and example will carry on. I will miss him, particularly the love of country and politics he brought to everything he did," he tweeted.

"NewsHour" correspondent Lisa Desjardins shared an image of her and Lehrer.

"This man changed news so much for the better. So grateful to be part of Jim Lehrer’s legacy," she captioned the image. "Very sad he is no longer in the world. But, suspect Jim Lehrer would just tell us to move on and cover the story."

"NewsHour" foreign affairs and defense correspondent Nick Schifrin wrote, "Every day, I am so grateful and proud to work on a program that honors and embodies Jim's legacy of integrity, seriousness, and fairness. A great light has gone out."

Contributing: The Associated Press

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jim Lehrer, PBS NewsHour anchorman and co-founder, dead at 85