Back in the late '60's until the '80's I told friends that if they wanted to be really, although relatively quickly, informed about most sides of a complex issue, then they should be regular watchers of the Lehrer News Hour on PBS. Unfortunately, his successors there have not kept to that high standard, devolving into just another partisan gab.

I had personal correspondence with Jim Lehrer back in the days when I wrote many times a day for posts and publications. One such sticks in my mind. I'd just visited the traveling Vietnam memorial wall, and commented that it brought up so many feelings and memories that I had nothing to say, I was dumbstruck. Until that time, I hadn't known that Lehrer served as a Marine officer.  He wrote back to me that he had the same reactions and feelings as I.

In the linked obit, Jim Lehrer's standards of journalism are listed. I would add one more: if you've nothing really worth saying, don't say it.

Please read the Lehrer lessons for journalists, and share it with other aspiring or entrenched journalists.

Jim Lehrer’s old school journalism is exactly how we should still be doing it today