Celebrating PBS NewsHour

- [Glover] For almost 50 years, the PBS NewsHour has been America's most trusted source of news and information.

- [Woodruff]: We're about curiosity, about finding out the facts, what is going on here, and then letting you make up your own mind.

- [Alcindor]: Sometimes you watch the show and you cry.

Sometimes you watch PBS NewsHour and you laugh.

Sometimes you watch PBS NewsHour and you get angry.

We are revealing parts of the world that are important enough to make it onto our broadcast.

- [Costas]: The metabolism of the PBS NewsHour is different from anything else that presents news on a nightly basis.

- [Glover]: From the 1970s to today, PBS NewsHour has always been about delivering information in a thorough, thoughtful, measured way.

- [Burns]: It's so nice to have had the NewsHour.

And before that the MacNeil/Lehrer Report for so many decades as this kind of calm, neutral corner in which you could go for a little bit of peace from all the screaming.

- [Kerger]: The NewsHour sits apart.

It is part of its legacy from the very beginning when it was the first hour-long newscast.

And today I think it sits by itself because it is focused not only on the critical issues of the day, but putting them into context.

- [Glover]: Join us now, as we honor one of the most enduring and essential television news programs of all time, welcome to "Celebrating PBS NewsHour.

" Hello, I'm Danny Glover.

For almost half a century the PBS NewsHour, has been a cultural mainstay across America.

In my home, it's been an important source of reliable news and information for many years.

It began in 1975 as the Robert McNeil report.

Today it's a 60-minute news round up with Judy Woodruff as anchor and managing editor, offering national and international stories explored in depth.

As PBS NewsHour approaches its 50th anniversary, we'll look back to see how it got here, what makes it so distinctive, and, in fact, why there is nothing else like it on television.

- [Just]: Well, in a way, the NewsHour is more than one program.

It's the, "what happened today?"

program.

And it's the, "why is all of this happening?"

And then it's the, "tell me a story that I haven't heard."

- [Nawaz]: It's really the only institution like it, in the American journalism landscape.

We have time to explore some of these really complicated topics that people worry about and wonder about every day.

And that is a luxury in journalism today.

- [Nawaz]: Can you get all of those systems of power to pivot, especially when you look at it, if you reported earlier, you know, we know what happened on January 6th, they were military veterans.

- [Yang]: We're not trying to tell people what to think.

We're not trying to say, this is what we think about this and so you should think that too.

We're trying to present the argument.

- [Jackson]: We have to be able to have confidence in the information that we get, especially when it comes to our health and the economy and politics and things that matter.

And PBS NewsHour gets that.

- [Woodruff]: It's the place that is not going to take any story at face value.

It's the place that is always going to turn the story over and look at what's underneath.

And what's on all sides.

- [Ferguson]: The people on this side are being held here by American soldiers.

But over here, they're being told that they don't qualify and they're not going to be let in at all.

- [Glover]: The genesis of PBS NewsHour goes back to 1973, when PBS decided to cover the Senate Watergate hearings, investigating misconduct by president Richard Nixon.

What was unprecedented was the decision to cover every minute of the hearings from gavel-to-gavel.

I remember being absolutely riveted watching these hearings.

We were witnessing democracy in action.

The PBS coverage was hosted by two experienced journalists: Robert MacNeil known to everyone as Robin, a Canadian-American with an extensive broadcast background at the BBC and NBC news and Jim Lehrer, an Ex-Marine who started out at the Dallas Morning News in Texas.

- [MacNeil]: We found ourselves for 47 days and nights anchoring continuous coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings.

Our version of it is the only complete record as far as I know, because we never broke away.

- [Dean]: I began by telling the president that there was a cancer growing on the presidency.

And if the cancer was not removed, the president himself would be killed by it.

- [Lehrer]: What more is there to say at this point, regardless of the time zone where you live, it's very late and the testimony of John W. Dean III has been very hot despite the several gallons of water he consumed while reading that lengthy and very historical document of his.

- [MacNeil]: And PBS decided brilliantly to run it again at night.

And the audience grew and grew and grew.

- [Rockefeller] When the Watergate hearings came on, I was absolutely mesmerized because then, we didn't have cable.

This was the first long stream television where you didn't know the outcome.

No one knew it was going to end up in an impeachment or with the president leaving, that wasn't the goal.

The goal was to find out the truth.

And actually that's the goal of the NewsHour every night of the week.

- [Glover]: Beyond digging for the truth and the depth of Robin and Jim's reporting, there was something else revealed during the Watergate coverage: a magical chemistry between the two journalists.

- [MacNeil]: I'm not like you, as you know very well.

I can't write a chapter of a book in one hour and then work on the program... - [Lehrer]: I don't...

I don't write them in one hour.

It's an hour.

It usually takes 90 minutes or two hours.

-[MacNeil]: Yeah, right.

- [Miller]: Opposites attract, I guess, is the expression.

They adored each other.

I mean, they were each other's best friend.

There's no doubt about it.

Robin had this steely, cool persona and Jim had an "Aw shucks!"

persona, but at the same time, Robin had a real soft center and Jim could have a real hard core.

- [Glover]: After their coverage of the Watergate hearings ended, the two wanted to keep working together.

In 1975, the Robert MacNeil report premiered as a local weeknight program.

The following year, it became the MacNeil/ Lehrer report.

This half hour program broke ranks with other TV news shows by offering public television viewers, in-depth explorations of the news and information of the day, not opinions or spin.

- [MacNeil]: We said, there's no need to rush breathlessly, through the news.

It didn't need to sound like announcers at the racetrack.

And so the thing we did that was most different that we could think of, we'll just do one story a night, for half an hour.

So that was it to respect the patience and curiosity of the audience.

And it worked.

- [Glover]: Jim and Robin believed that journalistic integrity demanded that they squeeze their opinions out of their questions to eliminate any suggestions of a point of view.

- [Winslow] That meant it wasn't the anchorman who was the most important person on the screen.

It was the person being interviewed and Jim spent so much time going over his questions, squeezing out any adjective that was unnecessary.

And Robin often said that he learned so much from Jim about the art of asking a simple question that was so much more effective and got a much better response.

- [Lehrer]: And do you believe in your ability to be able to put the Donna Rice and the personal issues behind you in such a way that the people will listen to you?

- [Hart]: Yes.

- [Lehrer]: Why are you so confident?

- [Hart]: Because I don't think the people care.

- [Deggans] The NewsHour has a long and storied tradition of trust reaching all the way back to its origins as a program that was documenting the Watergate scandal.

And then to have that morph into a general news program that was dedicated to bringing that level of coverage to all kinds of news stories.

It's a remarkable story.

And it's one that earns a lot of trust from viewers.

- [Glover]: Since the star of the show is the reporting, the stories are what stand out and in particular, the remarkable exclusive interviews that the NewsHour team has delivered time and time again.

- [Winslow]: We started in the seventies, late seventies trying to build a track record so that we could attract ever more important people to get on the program.

We weren't just there to be their megaphone.

We were there to ask tough questions, but not gotcha questions, not things that were sneaky and just designed to make them look bad or catch them in the act or something.

And so little by little, we gradually built a pretty good library of long interviews with people of some magnitude.

- [Glover]: One example of this approach, occurred early in the NewsHour's history.

In 1978, Robin scored a major scoop; an exclusive one-on-one interview with Ayatollah Khomeini.

- [Winslow]: We had been covering the Iranian revolution and trying to explain what was going on.

Eventually the word got back to us that we could interview the Ayatollah Khomeini.

- [MacNeil]: It was just before he left France and went back and led the revolution that overthrew the Shah.

I went to a little town outside Paris and did Khomeini, who was fascinating, really interesting.

- [MacNeil]: Ayatollah, do you know yourself, whether your followers are armed?"

(speaking in Persian) - [Translator]: They have told me that they are getting prepared and I have given the permission to prepare themselves.

- [MacNeil]: Which means getting arms.

(speaking in Persian) - [Translator]: Yes.

- [Winslow]: Everyone was barefoot and sitting on the ground.

Robin was in there asking very polite, but very pointed questions of the Ayatollah.

And as a result, got a very good interview out of the deal.

- [Glover]: The NewsHour got more than just a remarkable interview.

They didn't restrict themselves to playing a few soundbites.

They had the entire 25 minute interview, something rarely if ever done on commercial television at the time.

It provided context and a rare, real glimpse of the newsmakers that viewers were eager for.

- [MacNeil]: There is no alternative to fighting.

(speaking Persian) - [Translator]: There's no-- any other solution, but to fight.

- [Glover]: Covering the news isn't just about what you show.

Jim and Robin had rigorous standards about how it should be conveyed, to ensure what public television viewers saw at the end of their day, were just the facts, and not sensationalism.

- [Winslow]: One of the Newshour's great strengths, I think, is the choice of stories to cover and not cover.

And OJ Simpson's escapades were a classic example.

We covered the day he was arrested, because he was a very famous person.

- [Lehrer]: Former football star, OJ Simpson, was charged today with two counts of murder.

The alleged victims were his ex-wife and a male friend.

- [Winslow]: And the day he was charged with murder, the day his trial began, and then we mentioned him again when he was acquitted.

And in between there, when there were months when OJ Simpson seemed to be the only news story around, and we just kept on trucking, but we didn't mention it because the rest of it is all process.

And we're covering the big events of the day, not that.

- [Glover]: On the day that Robin retired in 1995, Robin and Jim discussed that very issue.

- [MacNeil]: You must be amazed, as I am amazed, all the time, the number of people who were amazed about why did you do OJ Simpson so little.

Why -- what's your answer when you're asked that question?

- [Lehrer]: Well, it's a matter of news judgment.

We believed, you and I, and our whole team believed, that when OJ Simpson -- when the murders occurred, that was news.

The white Bronco thing, that was news.

When OJ was arrested, that was news.

When he was indicted, that was news.

When the trial started, that was news.

The Mark Fuhrman tapes were news.

The verdict was news.

Everything else in between that, those eight and a half months, has been fascinating, it's been interesting, and it's been real, but it's been a soap opera, and it has not been news.

That's our judgment.

- [Jackson]: You'll have something sensational like the OJ Simpson trial.

And with PBS NewsHour, they'll recognize that this doesn't need to be covered 24/7, day in and day out, for the weeks that it was covered.

We can talk about what happened.

We can talk about why it mattered, and then we can move on.

- [Glover]: In the early 1990s, as AIDS continued to spread around the world, there were protests over the lack of news coverage of the epidemic.

Although the show was covering it in depth, the protests on one night in 1991 reached right into the studio.

- [Miller]: They told Jim in his earpiece that, "Take it from here, something's happening in New York, "you've got to take over the show".

- [Lehrer]: So our audience will know, the reason I have not gone back to Mr. Maxwell in New York is that there has been a demonstration in our studio in New York where Robert MacNeil and Mr. Maxwell were sitting, and we are unable to, at this point, to go back to Mr. Maxwell, as soon as whatever's going on up there has been cleared up.

- [Miller]: This group of men came into the studio in New York, and one of them chained himself, with handcuffs, to Robin's -- the leg of Robin's chair.

- [Lehrer]: We can now go back to New York, and I want to ask Mr. Maxwell a question, but before I ask Mr. Maxwell a question, I'm wanna ask Robin a question.

Can you tell us what happened, sir?

- [MacNeil]: Yes, it was a group of people who called themselves nonviolent demonstrators from the Act Up AIDS group, who complained that we and the media are spending too much time and attention on the war in the Middle East, which they say will never kill as many people as are dying of AIDS.

And I told them that this program has spent a lot of time on the AIDS matter, and will continue to be interested in it, and we will be covering it more in the future.

- [Glover]: The essential values that have come to define PBS NewsHour was shaped in many ways by Jim Lehrer.

With his unwavering humility, honesty, and passionate pursuit of the truth, he is regarded by many as the show's guiding spirit.

- [Woodruff]: He cared a lot about getting it right, he cared about being as close to perfect as possible.

He let you know if something wasn't perfect, all in the name of having the most outstanding program that you could put on the air.

- [Kerger]: Jim Lehrer was always very clear that we're not in the entertainment business.

Our job is to deliver the news and the news does not have a perspective.

It is straightforward.

So much of what the NewsHour became, was really his integrity and that of Robin.

- [Lehrer]: All of the NewsHour tonight will be devoted to the space shuttle tragedy.

We have a reaction to and discussion of what happened and why.

Plus videotape reports from the central locations involved, including Concord, New Hampshire, home of school teacher, Christa McAuliffe.

- [MacNeil]: Jim Lehrer was probably the most intelligent man I've ever worked with.

Somebody called him a laser once, he did have a laser-like intelligence.

- [Jamie Lehrer]: My dad felt that the NewsHour was like the perfect vehicle for presenting the kind of journalism that he and Robin believed in and always did.

In his eyes, a journalist is there to just present the news to the people.

Probably because they have better sources, because they have firsthand account information, but if you then translate that with your own adjectives or other things, you're influencing the viewer, and that's not pure journalism.

- [Glover]: Jim's commitment to journalistic excellence was well-known.

As his career progressed, he created a list about what he learned, creating the best news program on television.

He gave it a simple name: Rules of Journalism.

-[Jamie Lehrer]: The rules speak to the impartiality of journalism, as he believed it should be conducted.

- [Lehrer]: "Do nothing I cannot defend.

"Cover, write, and present every story "with the care I would want if the story were about me.

"Assume there is at least one other side "or version to every story.

"Assume the viewer is as smart and as caring "and as good a person as I am."

- [Farhi]: They're not just rules, they reflect a kind of ethic about how journalism should be practiced.

And to the extent that any news organization can adhere to those things, they are way ahead of the game.

One of the great things about NewsHour is that it tries to live up to that set of values every single day.

-[Glover]: Jim's stature as a brilliant and impartial journalist led to, well, a little side work.

Between 1988 and 2012, he served as moderator of 12 Presidential debates.

- [Lehrer]: Can the two of you agree that the voters have a choice, a clear choice between the two of you on Medicare?

[Obama and Romney]: Absolutely.

-[Lehrer]: All right.

So, to finish quickly, briefly, on the economy, what is your view about the level of federal regulation of the economy right now, is there too much?

And in your case, Mr. President, should there be more?

- [Glover]: On the NewsHour, Jim was more than just the anchor of the program, He was also the anchor of the NewsHour family.

- [Woodruff]: Jim was passionate on the inside.

He looked like this buttoned up news anchor, but on the inside, passionate.

Passionate about his family, passionate about the stories that mattered.

- [MacNeil]: We became very, very close friends, very much, very close to each other's families.

And Jim, when I was remarried in 1984, he was the best man at my wedding in New York.

- [Miller]: Jim had the most expressive eyes.

If he was annoyed with you, you knew it before he ever opened his mouth.

I mean, you'd look at his eyes and you knew you were in trouble.

And it's the same thing if you did something right, you knew you did it right cause they'd twinkle.

- [Jamie Lehrer]: The NewsHour was much more than a workplace for my dad.

If you love something with your heart and soul and you bring it home to the dinner table, we all will love it too.

These are genuine friendships that lasted over generations because they've come down to even my children.

And that's about what dad and Robin created with the help of all these other like-minded, very special, determined, and driven people.

It creates a family.

- [Glover]: Jim had a signature phrase that he used often.

It was a phrase of encouragement, a reminder to keep going, through good times and bad, with courage and conviction and faith.

This single word is still used today around the PBS NewsHour office.

"Onward.

" When we come back, we'll continue onward With our celebration of PBS NewsHour's long and illustrious history.

Please stay with us.

- [Glover]: Welcome back to "Celebrating PBS NewsHour.

" I'm Danny Glover.

In the first part of our program, we explored how PBS NewsHour has been for almost half a century, one of America's most trusted brands, offering news and information with unmatched journalistic integrity.

While the iconic news program has seen many changes throughout the years, there's been one true North Star.

- [Winslow]: The mission never changed.

The idea that we're here to explain things to an audience that truly wants to know why, and where, and how, and all of that, but in a context that they can understand and use in their daily lives.

- [Harrison]: In a time when we are just overwhelmed with disinformation, misinformation, a lot of mischief, NewsHour is really an informational life preserver.

And NewsHour comes through all the time.

It's the gold standard.

- [Kerger]: People want information, and they want fact.

And some may call that old fashioned or some may call that stodgy, but I actually think it's what makes it a singular service.

- [Glover]: The NewsHour doesn't happen magically.

The challenge of crafting this show every night means gathering information, making smart decisions, and above all, teamwork.

- [Just]: Our newsroom is a vibrant place where we debate, and disagree, and throw new ideas in, and try things, and sometimes they work better than others.

But if we didn't have that kind of trust and respect for each other, I don't think we could have that kind of creativity.

- [Woodruff]: The day has no beginning and has no end.

As soon as you wake up in the morning, you're thinking about what are we going to do today?

And what's in the news?

It's every pore is taking in information.

There's a morning meeting at nine o'clock where we talk through a little bit about what was on the program last night, but most of it is spent, you know, what are the main stories of the day?

How many of those do we need to do today?

- [Yang]: It's more about what we can bring to light, what we can help illuminate.

- [Nawaz]: I think if you're a journalist, and if you've chosen this career path, it's because you care.

Just at a basic level, you care.

And you think it's important for other people to care too.

- [Just]: I'm very proud of the team when something breaks that we're able to respond to it quickly, and to give an in-depth interview or conversation reporting about it - get newsmakers to come on the program and explain it in depth.

I was very proud when we were able to do so many specials in primetime for PBS as well.

We did a hour-long program about January 6th.

It flexes different muscles and makes the team realize what we're capable of.

- [Woodruff]: Provoking a mob of his supporters, President Trump upended America's long tradition of peacefully transferring power.

Last week's deadly siege at the Capitol raised urgent questions about the health and security of our democracy.

This is "American Reckoning," a PBS NewsHour special.

- [Glover]: For the first eight years of PBS NewsHour, Robin MacNeil and Jim Lehrer were the heart of the show.

Producers, directors, writers, and other staff might come and go, but it was always assumed that the two of them would be there without fail, managing the content, and anchoring on camera every week night.

But in 1983, a frightening development threatened to derail it all.

- [Miller]: It was this hour long program.

Everything was going along terrifically, and then Jim had a heart attack.

It was a pretty major heart attack and he was only, I think, 49 years old.

-[Jamie Lehrer]: They were working like crazy, so it's not surprising that he had a heart attack because it was tough, and it was very stressful.

- [Miller]: Suddenly, Jim wasn't coming into work, and Robin couldn't do the show alone, and then Jim went on to have multiple bypass surgery.

- [Winslow]: We were all, of course, much distressed and totally bereft and everything worrying about Jim, but also trying to figure out what do we do without Jim in Washington.

And there was Judy, thankfully, who got baptized by fire.

She just jumped right in.

- [MacNeil]: Jim Lehrer is off tonight, Judy Woodruff's in Washington, Judy?

- [MacNeil]: Also tonight, Robin, we examine one facet of the debate over the death penalty.

- [Glover]: Only a few months earlier, Judy Woodruff had come aboard as Chief Washington Correspondent.

- [Miller]: Judy went on the air to substitute for Jim for a couple weeks and it kept stretching, and stretching, and stretching.

She did an amazing job.

She's the most incredible professional I've ever known.

- [Winslow]: We were all concerned that we not lose either our founding father or the entire program.

And so she was instrumental in the continuing effort to keep it going and doing it well.

- [Glover]: The series' national correspondent, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who had served as backup anchor since 1977, also kept the NewsHour on track in Jim's absence.

- [MacNeil]: Jim Lehrer is off, Judy Woodruff's on assignment in New Hampshire, Charlayne Hunter-Gault is in Washington.

Charlayne.

- [Hunter-Gault]: Also on the NewsHour, Democrats and Republicans met today to continue talks on one of the hottest political issues of 1984, the budget deficit, and how to bring it down.

- [Winslow]: Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who was an amazing, and is to this day, an amazing person, and quite a personality.

And she came with all kinds of new ideas, bringing a fresh insight, whole different perspective, whole different set of friends and family that she could draw on for inspiration.

- [Hunter-Gault]: Would that be enough for you to, and the ANC, to restart the constitutional talks that you've broken off with the government?

- [Mandela]: Oh, definitely not because the two are separate.

- [Rockefeller]: She was, from the beginning, an historical figure herself.

She helped break down the barriers of segregation.

When she joined the NewsHour, she really helped raise all of our stakes.

- [Lehrer]: Charlayne Hunter-Gault is in New York.

Charlayne.

-[Hunter-Gault]: Jim, when you talk about OPEC, you're basically talking about Saudi Arabia on the one hand, and then the 12 other members of the cartel on the other.

That's because the Saudis pump 40% of the entire OPEC output.

- [Glover]: Jim recovered fully and soon returned.

- [Miller]: He's completely a reformed man.

The smoking is over, his diet is perfect, and he takes a nap every afternoon as you've probably have heard, his legendary nap.

If the door's closed to his office, he's on the couch, and you don't bother Jim.

- [Glover]: In 1995, the show had been on the air for 20 years, and it faced its biggest change yet.

Robin MacNeil, the NewsHour's co-founder, retired from the show.

- [Winslow]: When Robin retired, they did this thing.

Robin said his goodbyes to the audience, and then he said, "Good night, Jim."

And Jim said goodnight to Robin.

- [Lehrer]: Hey Robin - - [MacNeil]: I guess that's it.

- [Lehrer]: Yeah.

Hey, good night, Robin.

- [MacNeil]: Good night, Jim.

Finally, I'd just like to say to the audience how grateful I am to public television nationally and to all the 300 local stations who carry us for the opportunity you've given me to work in a manner I could be proud of when I went home every night.

But that applies equally to our viewers.

Without you, no program.

There are now some 5 million of you a night, and you express a loyalty to this program of a quality I've never experienced anywhere else.

Thank you for understanding what we do.

You'll find all the same values there on Monday night and in the years ahead.

Thanks and good night.

- [Glover]: The end of one era meant the start of another.

Now with Jim as sole anchor, the name of the series would change again to "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

" (triumphant horn and string music) - [Lehrer]: Good evening, I'm Jim Lehrer.

- [Woodruff]: I had a conversation with Jim and he was talking about what he wanted to do with the program, and it was as if his eyes were on fire.

It's we're going to do the most amazing program.

It's going to be about the most important stories, it's going to be serious, we're going to use up every second of that time to do the news that matters.

- [Glover]: With Jim anchoring the foundation was as strong as ever that made it possible for the show to continue evolving and improving.

The team was joined by a formidable correspondent.

She had an impressive resume - the Washington Post, the New York Times, and NBC.

And from the start, she transformed the program in remarkable ways.

Of course, I'm talking about the legendary Gwen Ifill.

- [Woodruff]: Gwen was an icon, a trailblazer, a mentor, a blazing meteor across the night sky.

I mean, she stood for the very best of journalism.

- [Ifill]: This is an amazing place chock full of the expected and the unexpected.

- [Woodruff]: Here was someone who came from an immigrant family.

When she started out in journalism, there were very few people of color.

And she withstood some pretty ugly language, pushback, treatment that we don't even want to think about.

And she never let that slow her down.

She was courageous.

She was brilliant.

She was the - always the person in the room to question the conventional wisdom.

- [Chang]: Gwen Ifill is legendary for a reason.

When I was a young cub reporter covering politics, she was already the veteran, and for so many young journalists and frankly, journalists of color, she was a shining light, a beacon for so many of us, and remained so throughout her career.

- [Just]: Gwen was someone you could immediately have a conversation with.

And she was just curious about everything and everybody.

She also had a great sense of humor and just, the smile...

It lit up the room and it came through the screen.

- [Glover]: During her tenure at the NewsHour, Gwen's star glowed even brighter when she was chosen to moderate the Vice-Presidential debate in 2004 and in 2008, with Governor Sarah Palin, and Senator Joe Biden.

- [Ifill]: Senator McCain has said that he supports caps on carbon emissions.

Senator Obama has said he supports clean coal technology, which I don't believe you've always supported.

- [Biden]: I have always supported it, that's a fact.

- [Ifill]: Clear it up for us, both of you.

And start with Governor Palin.

- [Glover]: It's often said that the only constant in this world is change.

The NewsHour has been no exception.

In 2011, Jim Lehrer retired.

And two years later in August 2013, the show announced that Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill would now be co-anchors and co-managing editors.

- [Winslow]: And the day after we made the announcement, the three of us women were flabbergasted to discover that we had created the first all-female anchor team in television news.

And that hundreds of women were writing in, talking about what a great move this is.

And we were delighted to see the reaction.

And of course, I think they turned out to be a fabulous team.

- [Ifill]: And that's the NewsHour for tonight.

On Tuesday, election day is finally here.

Join us for analysis and the latest results on-air and online.

Plus we'll bring you a special report at 11:00 PM Eastern.

Good thing we got that extra hour of sleep over the weekend.

I'm Gwen Ifill.

- [Woodruff]: And I'm Judy Woodruff.

For all of us here at the PBS NewsHour, thank you, and goodnight.

- [Farhi]: Here's a national broadcast anchored by two women, one woman of color.

And it's again, symbolically quite a landmark and quite a statement about the news business and about the NewsHour.

- [Woodruff]: We jumped in and, you know, didn't look back.

Really starting a new era in television, because we were the first two women to co-anchor a national newscast.

Just saying it makes me take a breath.

- [Kerger]: Judy is an extraordinarily gifted journalist.

When she and Gwen teamed up, it was magic.

- [Woodruff]: On this, the first night of the new PBS NewsHour, we have a lot of news for you.

- [Ifill]: We also have a new look, but Judy and I will be bringing you the news and analysis you've come to trust.

- [Woodruff]: I knew that she had my back, and she knew I had her back.

And we decided from the very beginning that we would be so close that people couldn't pull us apart.

And it worked.

- [Ifill]: Mr. President, with all of the mayhem in the Middle East involving allies like Israel, and Jordan, and refugees on the border... Do you worry at all that your administration underestimated what the toll would be of an Arab Spring?

- [Deggans]: Gwen never let the difficulties and the challenges of the job that she took on diminish her humanity.

And you could sense that there was a really wonderful, really talented, really trustworthy person at the center of everything that she did.

There was no doubting her ability as a journalist.

But she also had this personal warmth, and she had this charisma and made you want to pay attention to what she had to say, and made you admire the work that she did even more.

- [Glover]: The NewsHour's future appeared bright with Gwen and Judy, but unexpectedly in 2016, health problems forced Gwen to take a leave of absence for two months.

Despite this, she would not be deterred and made her presence known her first day back on the job.

- [Just]: She did an amazing interview her first day back, after having been out for several months with surgery.

She did an interview with Barack Obama that we did in Indiana, and she had so much energy and so much spirit to it.

We all thought she was going to be better and survive this.

- [Glover]: But on November 14th, 2016, Gwen succumbed to cancer.

- [Winslow]: When she died, it was probably one of the saddest moments in my life, because she had been so vital.

Gwen was an electric personality who filled the screen.

And all of a sudden the screen went blank.

- [Glover]: The NewsHour staff was stunned, but they also knew they had to report this truly awful news.

- [Rockefeller]: That night, Judy Woodruff had to go on the air and share her thoughts about Gwen.

Where people hadn't known that she was in the hospital, within hours put together our remembrances and shared with the audience exactly what we were thinking and feeling.

- [Woodruff]: Our lead tonight is news that we hoped we would never have to report.

Our managing editor, my co-anchor and dear friend, Gwen Ifill died earlier today after an almost year-long battle with cancer.

She still had so much more to give as a journalist, as a human being, as a mentor, as a friend.

And um, it's, she leaves a big hole in all of our hearts.

- [Glover]: Gwen's impact is difficult to overstate.

She was a giant in the industry with a deep connection to the NewsHour audience.

But beyond her on-camera persona, she was a friend and mentor to countless others at the NewsHour and throughout the journalism community.

For me, Gwen was a powerful beacon of light, hope, compassion, and wisdom.

- [Nawaz]: It took someone like Gwen occupying the space she did for there to be space for so many of us today, out in this industry.

So, we all owe her a debt of gratitude.

- [Alcindor]: I can hear Gwen's voice every single time I achieve something that blows my mind, or that feels surreal.

I can hear Gwen telling me, "Don't be nervous, you deserve this."

It was Gwen who said "You can do this, you can be exactly who you are."

- [Yang]: I was thinking about this at her memorial service.

I think everyone in that room would say that Gwen was their best friend, and a lot of them wouldn't know each other because she just brought everyone together.

- [Ifill]: When I was a little girl, there was a woman named Melba Tolliver, who was on the news and she had a big afro.

And I just was transfixed by this idea.

Not- It didn't make me want to be in television as much as it made me want to tell the story.

And every now and then, I am not particularly interested in, you know, I just get caught up in whatever the day's work is, and invariably, somebody will come up to me and tell me the story of their little girl.

And it always stops me in my tracks, because as long as I remember that there's someone on the other side of the piece of equipment, the camera, who's watching me with expectation, and it can shape what they do next...

I have to take what I do seriously every single day.

- [Glover]: Gwen Ifill knew that America was watching.

And though she left us too soon, she also knew that she would help inspire the next generation.

When we return we'll find out how Gwen's legacy lives on in today's PBS NewsHour, and see just how bright the future is.

Please stay with us.

- [Glover]: Welcome back to "Celebrating PBS NewsHour.

" Hello, I'm Danny Glover.

From its very inception, The NewsHour, with its signature in-depth reporting and calm, measured pace has played a critical role in the American media landscape.

Today more than ever, it is essential viewing, it certainly is for me.

- [Woodruff]: This is a program and this is an enterprise that is serious.

That is about informing people because the American people have to know what's going on in order to frankly survive in this crazy and unpredictable time that we live in.

- [Deggans]: It is important to present coverage that pushes for answers, that tries to get at the essential truth of situations.

And that pushes past misinformation or disinformation.

- [Alcindor] The DNA of PBS NewsHour is grounded in this idea that we are about facts.

We are about truth telling.

We are about hard truths.

When you watch this show, it's not just to make you feel great about the world.

It's also to say, here are some of the issues that America and the world are facing.

- [Glover]: That laser-like focus on maintaining the highest standards of journalistic integrity has been the NewsHour's foundation, built by Robin MacNeil and Jim Lehrer.

They believed in their bones that the program was bigger than anyone sitting behind that anchor desk.

In 2009, Jim Lehrer committed to that principle when he enacted an extraordinary plan to ensure that the NewsHour would continue long after his departure.

- [Winslow]: He was concerned about the future of the NewsHour that, "When I do retire, "I don't want that to be the end of the funding, "the end of the enterprise, "the end of PBS's support for us.

" - [Glover]: Jim proposed removing his name from the show title two years before he retired.

An idea that caught even PBS off guard.

- [Kerger]: Really?

You want to call it the PBS NewsHour?

Really?

And he said,"Yes."

He said yes.

And that was really his plan because he really didn't want it to be about him.

He wanted it to be about the program and what had been built that he knew would continue on.

(bright trumpet blare) - [Lehrer]: Good evening.

I'm Jim Lehrer.

- [Deggans]: One of the things that Jim established as a sole anchor is to make the news the star and make what is being reported the most important thing that the audience will encounter in a PBS NewsHour broadcast, but that made it official once the name changed.

And, of course, it creates a situation where it is easier for other people to take up the mantle and help continue an institution that has become exceedingly important to the news ecosystem in public media and on PBS, in particular.

- [Glover]: After his retirement in 2011, Jim turned to other pursuits, but watched with pride as the program continued to shine.

But in January of 2020 at his home in Washington, D.C. Jim Lehrer passed away in his sleep.

He was 85.

- [Woodruff]: Jim Lehrer, our founding anchor died this morning.

We are heartbroken here at the NewsHour.

Jim's legacy of journalism is with us every day.

- [Glover]: From that moment on, statements of love and support from viewers and journalists, all across America came streaming in.

- [Jamie Lehrer]: We really saw what it meant that he had this incredible community of people who he had never met, who had never met him, the outpouring of sympathy and good wishes from people he'd never met, so viewers, but also from his friends and colleagues, because truly the NewsHour was so much a part of his life and part of our lives.

- [Winslow]: He was a huge presence in so many lives because he was so vibrant and such a well-informed but generous and tolerant man, truly tolerant.

And when I got the call from Judy Woodruff, the day that he died, my world just kind of collapsed.

And I'm not going to forgive you for making me cry.

[Laughs] - [Jamie Lehrer]: I was so proud of my dad.

He achieved so much from really nothing.

You know, he had worked hard to get to where he was, but it was incredible to see all the things that he did over time.

He had been a Marine and the Marines honored him.

He'd gone to the University of Missouri journalism school and they honored him.

And I understand why, because he had a lot to say it was always from his heart because he had the biggest heart and he loved people.

The people around him more than anything.

Yeah.

- [Glover]: All of us, family, friends, work colleagues and viewers, we all miss Jim Lehrer deeply, but the foundation he helped build, created a legacy of trust and accountability that thrives today under the stewardship of Managing Editor and Anchor Judy Woodruff.

- [Deggans]: What makes, uh, Judy Woodruff a great anchor is she has a steady even-handed, but incisive approach to covering the news.

She's also someone who's really smart and warm and witty, and someone who doesn't have the kind of ego that gets in the way of being a great journalist.

- [Woodruff]: You're saying whether Republicans can get together as a group is more important than healthcare legislation.

- [Roberts]: No, it's not more important.

It's another consideration that if we can't do this, maybe you can't do tax reform or for that matter, anything else on the table.

- [Jackson]: She really digs deep and I so appreciate that about her.

She's serious, you feel like you know who she is and you can trust what information she's presenting.

- [Woodruff]: The US Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine today.

Almost immediately, the Pentagon announced vaccinations will now be mandatory for US service members.

- [Glover]: As it approaches its 50th year, diversity is a guiding principle at the NewsHour.

- [Alcindor]: When you have a diverse staff, when you have a diverse anchor, when you have diverse newsroom leadership, what you get is America telling its story back to itself.

What you get is reporters who understand what it means to live in rural America, to live in urban America, what it means to be African-American, what it means to be Asian-American, what it means to be white in America.

And to me, that is the service to the viewers.

- [Harrison]: We have complicated issues in this country.

You need different points of view and these different points of view keep NewsHour fresh.

- [Woodruff]: From the very beginning, whether it was Charlayne Hunter-Gault, joining Jim and Robin, whether it was Ray Suarez, who was with the program for many, many years, and then Gwen Ifill, joining the program, bringing together people from different parts of the country.

- [Deggans]: It's important for newsrooms to reflect the diversity of the communities they're trying to serve, and involve that diversity in shaping the news coverage.

And one thing that's obvious from watching the PBS NewsHour is that that ethic is something that they take very seriously.

- [Woodruff]: Yamiche Alcindor is reporting on all this at the White House.

Yamiche, it's now dark there, you've been standing by for hours, as the events have transpired one after another.

- [Alcindor]: That's right, and what we've seen from the president is him, trying to urge calm also continuing to double down on the false information that got us to this moment.

- [Nawaz]: One of the things I knew growing up was I didn't have anyone like me on TV to look at.

There were not other brown, Muslim, first-generation American women.

They just weren't there.

To think that I have a space and the platform that I do at a place like NewsHour, tells you everything you need to know about this program.

- [Nawaz]: Emergency crews continue to battle lava flow and hazardous fumes today, four days after the Kilauea volcano erupted on Hawaii's Big Island.

- [Glover]: In recent years, the show has expanded how it delivers the news to its audience.

It now offers digital content on a wide range of social media platforms.

- [Just]: Whether it's on YouTube, or on your PBS station, or on Twitter, or Facebook, or Instagram, we bring the same journalistic standards to every kind of journalism we do, whether it's a 140 character tweet or a one minute video online.

- [Jackson]: They really want to meet you where you are.

They have to be able to pivot to make sure that everyone can consume them whenever they want to.

- [Glover]: The strategy is clearly working, users of these digital platforms have grown enormously over the last few years.

- [Alcindor]: All of those things really, I think endear people to NewsHour and also it's why I think NewsHour has this reach that is global and that is evolving and will continue to go on.

- [Glover]: Another notable change, has been the major expansion of international coverage.

- [Just]: I'm so proud on the NewsHours that we cover stories from around the world.

We don't have bureaus in any foreign cities, in fact, but we do have relationships with journalists around the world.

- [Yang]: In the hard hit city of Les Cayes, scavengers and rescue crews, sift through the same debris.

- [Yang]: It's always amazing to me, the letters, the emails I get from viewers around the world.

Military members watch us on Armed Forces Television.

Veterans, because they've served overseas, have a great interest in foreign news.

We are about the only place in America now, that does a fair amount, of serious foreign coverage.

- [Glover]: And NewsHour correspondents are more and more reporting from locations all around the world, which allows them to dig even further into important stories.

- [Brangham]: For the PBS NewsHour, I'm William Brangham, in Antarctica.

- [Ferguson]: I'm Jane Ferguson, in Bamyan, Afghanistan.

- [Shifrin]: I'm Nick Shifrin in Beijing.

- [Glover]: Other recent developments within the show include PBS NewsHour Weekend, which extends the show's weekday coverage to every Saturday and Sunday with the same high standards, and expert analysis.

A West Coast nightly feed from the Phoenix Bureau that updates the news for the Pacific time zone, and wide ranging coverage of the arts, which makes the show unique among news programs.

- [Brown]: Is it fun to do a scene like that or hard or what?

- [Regina King]: Yes, all of the above.

Hard, fun.

- [Glover]: The NewsHour team also now produces long form documentaries and other specials for PBS, as well as coverage for presidential debates, Supreme Court confirmation hearings, and much more.

- [Just]: We're very grateful to be the special events news producers for PBS, so whether it's election night, or conventions, or producing debates, or specials when big events happen.

- [Alcindor]: PBS and NewsHour share a mission, and that mission is, to inform people and also to be accessible.

I think the things that you see on NewsHour, you won't see other places.

- [Just]: The NewsHour and public broadcasting is a part of people's lives in a way that I think is different.

People do feel like PBS is mine, PBS NewsHour is something that I'm connected to, those people are my friends, or I can trust Judy Woodruff, I can trust the correspondents on the NewsHour, and so, we do feel this amazing connection.

People write to us to thank us for what we've brought to their lives.

It's a very touching thing.

(soft music) - [Glover]: The future of PBS NewsHour, as it embarks on this next half century is indeed bright.

- [Kerger]: The reason I believe the NewsHour has a bright future is because they are always laser-focused on those core principles that Robin and Jim adopted.

- [Winslow]: I think the NewsHour has established what I, in the beginning, thought would never happen, which is a kind of firm foundation for news and public affairs on public television.

So, I think the NewsHour's future is secure for as long as public television survives.

- [Alcindor]: The future of NewsHour will hopefully be diverse.

The future of NewsHour will continue to be one that is grounded on truth telling, with that as our guiding light, that NewsHour will be stronger than ever.

- [Costas]: If you want some depth, if you want the additional shadings and nuance that many of these issues call for, the PBS NewsHour, does a very good job of that.

- [Deggans]: I'm kind of excited to see what the PBS NewsHour is gonna do in the future, thanks to the hunger, among the audience, for reporting that they can trust.

And that's at the core of what the PBS NewsHour does.

- [Chang]: I think PBS NewsHour drowns out the noise and in many ways is a gold standard.

I've been a journalist my entire life, and there are certain programs that you can just sit down, and settle in, and get context, and get perspective, and get wisdom.

- [Jackson]: So, I'll continue, you know, to watch PBS until I'm an old lady, my children will continue to watch PBS NewsHour.

- [MacNeil]: I'm just amazed and very proud that this sort of experiment has proved to have such a long life.

I hope it continues.

- [Woodruff]: It's humbling to think that I am carrying the baton.

We are temporary stewards of this very special commodity, this very special news enterprise that... that is really meant to survive forever.

(soft music) - [Glover]: It's been an honor and a privilege to share the long and illustrious history of this monumental program.

I'm Danny Glover.

Thank you for joining us, for "Celebrating PBS NewsHour.

" (gentle inspirational music)