on a personal note, i was honored to attend the 2007 white house ceremony during which nell harper lee was presented the presidential medal of freedom, america's highest civilian award, by president george w. bush. presenting -- in presenting this award to ms. lee, the president noted, "to kill a mockingbird" has influenced the character of our country for the better. it's been a gift to the entire world, as a model of good writing and humane sensibility this book will be read and studied forever. after the medal ceremony in the east room, and after a brief reception in the state dining room, i was truly touched as people stood literally the length of the white house, including some of the other recipients of the award ceremony that day just for the opportunity to thank ms. lee for her gift to mankind. in a moment i will truly never forget, i remember the ceremony was winding down, standing next to ms. lee in the foyer of the white house, while the conductor of the president's own, the united states band, led the orchestra in the musical score from the opening credits of the movie. the

plus, "art beat" marks the 50th anniversary this month of harper lee's landmark novel "to kill a mockingbird." jeff talks to author and filmmaker mary murphy about the book's lasting power and popularity. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. jeff. >> brown: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm jeffrey brown. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you on-line, and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org no. well, it's just past there. first house in the right after the cottage on the l don't panic. brazen it out. me? - no. - right. here goes. yippee!