He Couldn’t Steal Second, So Here He Is
In Whatever Works, we feature an interesting person discussing some aspect of his or her career or special project. Today’s guest is Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of PBS’ “The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer.”
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Question: What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Answer: City editor of a daily afternoon newspaper. I went to work at 5 in the morning and was seldom home before 7 at night. There were always more stories to cover than we had reporters, more decisions to make than I had the proper time to make them. I learned a lot but it was miserable.
Q: What’s your fantasy job?
A: I always dreamed of playing second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and when they moved to Los Angeles my dream moved with them. I still believe that I could have brought new poetry and meaning to the double-play pivot.
Q: Who was the worst boss you ever had?
A: I worked for a guy who could not bring himself to tell the truth or talk straight. He also had a terrible habit of dozing off in the middle of important meetings, occasionally when I was shouting at him.
Q: What’s the most fun you’ve had on a job?
A: During a live television interview, asking the right question of the right person at the exact right moment. I know when I have done it and there is no more fun in my job than when it happens.
Q: What was your first job?
A: I was 16 and worked as a part-time clerk in the boys’ division at the YMCA in San Antonio, Texas, during the school year and as a counselor at Y camp in the summer. My first eight-hour job was as ticket agent at the Continental Trailways bus depot in Victoria, Texas. I was 18 and was also going to school at Victoria College, a small junior college.
Q: Most people probably don’t know you once worked as . . .
A: . . . an infantry officer for the U.S. Marine Corps from 1956 to 1959. I loved being a Marine. It forced me to grow up and take responsibility for myself and others.
Q: What do you love about your work?
A: I love asking people questions. There is something about it that is engaging and satisfying.
Q: What do you hate about it?
A: In 23 years of doing live television, I have said many stupid things. I hate the fact that I cannot literally reach out and grab those stupidities and put them back in my mouth before anyone hears them.
Q: What’s the hardest part of your job?
A: As executive editor of our program, deciding what stories to cover on “The NewsHour” beyond the obvious ones. This was particularly difficult during the early stages of the Lewinsky story when developments sometimes came wrapped in trashy packages.
Q: What’s your current project?
A: It’s always that night’s program. I have to get ready, to be prepared, to avoid making a fool of myself on live national television. I am also working on a novel about a grown man who runs away from home on an antique motor scooter.
Q: How do you deal with stress?
A: I aqua-jog for an hour and take a 45-minute-plus nap every day. And I write my novels and talk to my three grown daughters on the telephone. I also love to go to a good restaurant with my wife, Kate, for a good meal and wine.
Q: How did you know you wanted to be a journalist?
A: I was 16 when I decided I wanted to be a reporter. It happened mainly because I knew I wasn’t going to make it as a professional baseball player and being a sportswriter seemed the next best thing. About that same time an English teacher wrote a note on a theme paper of mine: “Jimmy--you are a very good writer.” I decided then to be a newspaper reporter-writer and have never looked back.
Q: What drives you to keep working?
A: I love what I do and I believe it matters very much to the people who watch our program. I can’t even imagine doing anything else for a living.
Q: What do you want to do when you retire?
A: I have not thought about it because I have no plans to retire. Obviously, whatever or whenever anything happens, I will always continue to write my novels.
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Jim Lehrer’s latest novel, “Purple Dots” (Random House), is now in bookstores.