(Washington D.C.) - The News Hour with Jim Lehrer will remain in Pittsburgh through this weekend to anchor round-the-clock PBS coverage of the NFL Draft. The News Hour broadcast from Pittsburgh this past Monday as part of its coverage of the Pennsylvania primary. Mr. Lehrer will be joined in the WQED studios on draft day by co-anchor Gwen Ifill, as well as syndicated columnist Mark Shields, Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot, Sports Illustrated pro football writer Peter King, and presidential historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Michael Beschloss. Ms. Ifill said she felt having two presidential historians on the air was important. “If we want to let viewers know who Franklin Roosevelt would take if he were picking for the Miami Dolphins, we can go to either Doris or Michael.”
Mr. Lehrer said he thought PBS coverage of the NFL draft was long overdue. “This is an event that really seems to strike a chord with the American people,” he said. “The anticipation and excitement that comes with the process by which the management of professional football franchises choose aspiring athletes exceeds every other selection process in civic life, and that includes the presidential election.” Mr. Lehrer added that the tedious, snail-like pace of the NFL draft made it the perfect story for PBS. “Ken Burns couldn’t do it any better, or any slower.”
