Lehrer on 'citizen journalism'; Fourth Estate dinner Oct. 28

Jim Lehrer, longtime host of the PBS NewsHour, will receive the 2011 Fourth Estate Award at a dinner at the National Press Club on Oct. 28.

Tickets are $125 for Club members. Every member can buy one guest ticket at the member price. Reserve at [email protected] or (202) 662-7501. Tickets for non-members, at $195 each, will not be sold until later.

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

In the weeks leading up to the Fourth Estate dinner, the Wire will periodically run Lehrer's comments regarding the state of journalism and his approach to the craft. Today, Lehrer on citizen journalism:

"But we still need gatekeepers, and those gatekeepers need to be professional journalists." The Dallas Morning News, June 6, 2011

"I think people are slowly realizing that you need to know the facts before we can have an informed opinion - what exactly did happen, what were the contents of the speech, what does the birth certificate say? And for that you need a news source you can trust.” The Dallas Morning News, June 6, 2011

"A 'citizen journalist' may provide a tip for a story, but I would no more want to rely on citizen journalists for the news than I would a citizen doctor for my surgery.” The Dallas Morning News, June 6, 2011

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

--Lehrer quotes compiled by Bill Hickman ([email protected])