Bob Schieffer Biography

Bob Schieffer is a television journalist from the United States. He is well-known for moderating presidential debates, for which he has received praise. Schieffer is one of the few journalists who has covered all four major national Washington assignments: the White House, the Pentagon, the US Department of State, and the US Congress. His work at CBS has almost entirely focused on national politics. He has interviewed every US President since Richard Nixon, as well as the majority of those who have run for the office.

Bob Schieffer Age

Schieffer is 85 years old as of 2022. He was born Bob Lloyd Schieffer on 25 February 1937 in Austin, Texas, United States.

Bob Schieffer Height

Schieffer stands at a height of 5 feet 8 inches (1.72 m).

Bob Schieffer Parents

Schieffer was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to John Emmitt Schieffer and Gladys Payne Schieffer.

Bob Schieffer Brother

Schieffer is the older brother of Tom Schieffer, a friend and former business partner of President George W. Bush who served as the United States’ Ambassador to Australia from 2001 to 2005 and as the United States’ Ambassador to Japan from 2005 to 2009. Tom Schieffer announced on March 2, 2009, that he was forming an exploratory committee to run for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Texas.

Bob Schieffer Wife

Sharon Schieffer Mayes, Schieffer’s sister, is a retired teacher and school administrator who taught science for 17 years before becoming the Vice Principal of Dunbar High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Sharon eventually became the high school principal at Keller High School at a time when women made up only 2% of principals in Texas’ largest high schools.

Bob Schieffer College of Communication – Education

He graduated from North Side High School and earned a B.A. in journalism and English from Texas Christian University in 1959. (TCU). He was a member of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and the Phi Delta Theta fraternity while at university. TCU’s College of Communication was renamed in honor of Bob Schieffer in 2013.

Bob Schieffer Cancer

Schieffer overcame stage III bladder cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, and he has been cancer-free since 2004. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and is currently on insulin therapy.

Bob Schieffer Face the Nation

On April 8, 2015, while speaking at his alma mater, Texas Christian University, Schieffer announced his intention to retire as host of Face the Nation. Schieffer retired after 52 years in journalism, 46 of which he spent with CBS. On the show’s April 12 broadcast, he announced that John Dickerson, CBS’s political director, would take over in June 2015.

As he prepared to leave Face The Nation, Schieffer reflected on the accolades he received in the latter stages of his career. “The interesting thing about my life is that a lot of the recognition I got came after most people retired,” he told The New York Times, adding, “I think people just became familiar with me just because I was there and others had come and gone.” Schieffer’s final Face the Nation broadcast as moderator was on May 31, 2015.

Bob Schieffer Salary

Schieffer earns an annual salary of $1 Million.

Bob Schieffer Net Worth

Schieffer has an estimated net worth of $10 Million.

Bob Schieffer Photo
Bob Schieffer Photo

Bob Schieffer CBS

Schieffer was the anchor of the CBS Sunday Night News from 1973 to 1974, the CBS Sunday Evening News in 1976, and the Saturday Evening News from 1976 to 1996. From 1979 to 1980, he also hosted the weekday CBS morning show “Morning,” which was titled according to the day of the week (Monday Morning, Tuesday Morning, etc.). From 1991 until May 31, 2015, he was the moderator of the Sunday public affairs show Face the Nation.

Schieffer was also well-known for his reporting responsibilities. He was assigned to the Pentagon between 1970 and 1974. He was CBS’s White House correspondent from 1974 to 1979, and in 1982 he was named Chief Washington Correspondent in addition to his anchor duties. Following Dan Rather’s controversial retirement, he was named interim anchor for CBS Evening News on weekdays. He took over on March 10, 2005, the day after Rather’s final broadcast.

Under Schieffer, the CBS Evening News gained about 200,000 viewers to average 7.7 million viewers, reversing some of the ratings decline that occurred during Rather’s tenure; meanwhile, the NBC Nightly News lost 700,000 viewers and ABC’s World News Tonight lost 900,000. When co-anchor Bob Woodruff was injured in late January 2006, Schieffer filled the void left by ABC’s World News Tonight.

Schieffer’s final CBS Evening News broadcast was on August 31, 2006, and he was succeeded by Katie Couric. Couric returned to the evening news as chief Washington correspondent on his second broadcast. When Schieffer took over as evening news anchor in June 2011, he had previously worked as a substitute anchor for Couric and Scott Pelley.

Schieffer moderated the third presidential debate between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry in Tempe, Arizona on October 13, 2004. Schieffer moderated the third presidential debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain on October 15, 2008, at Hofstra University in Uniondale, New York. Schieffer also moderated the third presidential debate of 2012, which took place on October 22 in Boca Raton, Florida, between President Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Schieffer received the National Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award and the Walter Cronkite Award for Journalism Excellence in 2013.