New Look for PBS News Show

BALTIMORE: PBS’s The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer will become PBS NewsHour this fall, move from a single anchor to a dual anchor format and add a correspondent to serve as a bridge between the show’s on-air and digital-media platforms.

The changes, taking effect in the middle of September, were outlined by Lehrer, who remains executive editor and primary anchor, and Linda Winslow, executive producer of The NewsHour,  at the PBS Showcase. With the new format, Lehrer will be regularly joined by NewsHour senior correspondents Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff and Jeffrey Brown in the studio. Senior correspondents Ray Suarez and Margaret Warner will primarily focus on “out of studio” reporting. PBS NewsHour will also merge on-air and online operations into one entity in order to best provide news content suited to specific platforms. There will also be a online correspondent, who will post four-to-five-minute video news summaries online throughout the day and also anchor the news summary on the nightly PBS NewsHour broadcast.

“We welcome change and look forward to a new and enhanced NewsHour that better meets the demands of our audience, regardless of whether they come to us on-air or online,” said Lehrer. “What will not change is our commitment to serious journalism—MacNeil-Lehrer journalism—the kind of work we’ve been doing for 35 years. This is needed now more than ever.”

Paula Kerger, the president and CEO of PBS, added: “PBS and The NewsHour stand for quality reporting and analysis that are in-depth, trustworthy and fair. PBS and public media play a unique role in delivering to Americans the news and information they value and need. The changes outlined today represent innovative steps PBS and one of its flagship producers will take to better serve our audiences and deliver on the promise of the rapidly evolving news and public affairs landscape.”

John Boland, PBS’s chief content officer, continued: “The NewsHour is at the center of the multi-program PBS news and public-affairs service and the changes announced today will help ensure that The NewsHour remains vital and accessible to citizens in the digital age. "We are undergoing revolutionary change in the way audiences access and use content, and we are delighted that Jim Lehrer and his team are leading the way with these innovations. There will be more changes to come as PBS continues to evolve to meet the needs of the American public.”