Jim Lehrer Leaving PBS' NewsHour

Jim Lehrer is stepping down from his regular anchor gig on PBS NewsHour, effective June 6, the network announced today. He’ll still appear on the show on some Fridays, moderating a regular segment in which David Brooks and Mark Shields debate, and will remain “involved in the editorial direction of the program,” according to the Washington Post, but he won’t be part of the regular hosting rotation.

“I have been laboring in the glories of daily journalism for 52 years,” Lehrer said, “and there comes a time to step down from the daily process, and that time has arrived.” Not long ago, the show was called The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, but Lehrer’s name was dropped in December 2009, when PBS installed a multi-anchor team including Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff, Jeffrey Brown, Ray Suarez, and Margaret Warner, all of whom are staying with the program. (More Jim Lehrer stories.)