MacNeil to toast, roast Lehrer at Fourth Estate dinner, Oct. 28

Longtime PBS NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer will be “roasted” by Robert MacNeil, his former colleague and co-anchor, at the National Press Club Fourth Estate award dinner honoring Lehrer on Oct. 28.

MacNeil sat behind the anchor’s desk with Lehrer at the original NewsHour program, named the “MacNeil/Lehrer Report,” starting in 1976. It became the NewsHour when it was expanded to an hour in 1983.

Tickets for the dinner are on sale for Club members only through July 31. Ticket prices are $125 for Club members, and every member can buy one guest ticket at the member price. Reserve at [email protected] or (202) 662-7501.

Tickets for nonmembers, at $195 each, will go on sale in August.

Lehrer has set a standard for broadcast excellence at PBS for more than 35 years. He is also well known for moderating 11 debates over the course of the past six U.S. presidential elections.

He will be the 39th recipient of the National Press Club award for career achievement. Previous award winners include Bob Schieffer, Walter Cronkite, Christiane Amanpour and David Broder.

A portion of the ticket price is tax deductible. The dinner is a fundraiser for the Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library, the Club's 501(c)(3) organization.