Robert Macneil

2007 Great Immigrants

Robert Macneil

Journalist

Born in Canada

Born in Montreal, Canada in 1931, Robert MacNeil worked successively for Reuters News Agency, NBC News, the BBC and served for 20 years as executive editor and co-anchor, with Jim Lehrer, of PBS’s MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. The program was born out of the pair’s disenchantment with network news and was the first hour-long evening news program, known for its in depth coverage. MacNeil won numerous Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, the Overseas Press Club President’s Award, and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. He is the author of four novels and three memoirs, including Looking For My Country: Finding Myself in America. He is co-author of two books on language accompanying the PBS series, The Story of English and Do You Speak American? Updated 2010