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Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...
, from 1967 to 1974. He also worked as a network TV news commentator for ten years. Moyers has been extensively involved with
public broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
, producing documentaries and news journal programs, and has won numerous awards and honorary degrees for his investigative journalism and civic activities. He has become well known as a trenchant critic of the corporately structured U.S. news media.


Early years and education

Born Billy Don Moyers in Hugo in Choctaw County in southeastern
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, he is the son of John Henry Moyers, a laborer, and Ruby Johnson Moyers. Moyers was reared in
Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Marshall was 23,392; The population of the Greate ...
. Moyers began his journalism career at 16 as a cub reporter at the ''
Marshall News Messenger ''The Marshall News Messenger'' (originally the ''Marshall Morning News'') is a daily newspaper based in Marshall, Texas, with a circulation of around 5,000 in the Marshall area. Cox Enterprises sold the newspaper to ASP Westward in 2009. In ...
''. In college, he studied journalism at the North Texas State College in Denton, Texas. In 1954, US Senator Lyndon B. Johnson employed him as a summer intern and eventually promoted him to manage Johnson's personal mail. Soon after, Moyers transferred to the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, where he wrote for ''
The Daily Texan ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spring semesters, and it is among ...
'' newspaper. In 1956, he graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree in Journalism. While in Austin, Moyers served as assistant news editor for KTBC
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...
and
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
stations, owned by Lady Bird Johnson, wife of Senator Johnson. During the academic year 1956–1957, he studied issues of church and state at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
as a Rotary International Fellow. In 1959, he completed a
Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...
degree at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
, Texas. Moyers served as Director of Information while attending SWBTS. He was also a Baptist pastor in
Weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
in Williamson County, near Austin. Moyers was
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
in 1954. Moyers planned to enter a
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
program in American Studies at the University of Texas. During Senator Johnson's unsuccessful bid for the 1960 Democratic U.S. presidential nomination, Moyers served as a top aide, and in the general campaign he acted as liaison between Democratic vice-presidential candidate Johnson and the Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy.


Kennedy and Johnson administrations


The Peace Corps

The Peace Corps was established by President Kennedy by Executive Order in March 1961, but it was up to top aide Sargent Shiver and Bill Moyers to find the funding to actually establish the organization
The Peace Corp Act
was signed by President Kennedy on September 22, 1961. In ''Sarge,'' Scott Stossel reports that "Peace Corps legend has it that between them Moyers and Shriver personally called on every single member of Congress." Reflecting 25 years later on the creation of the program Moyers said: ”We knew from the beginning that the Peace Corps was not an agency, program, or mission. Now we know—from those who lived and died for it—that it is a way of being in the world." At the 50th Anniversary “Salute to Peace Corps Giants,” hosted by the National Archives, Moyers said, "The years we spent at the Peace Corps were the best years of our lives.” Moyers gave the same answer in the famed ''Vanity Fair'' Proust questionnaire in 2011. Moyers served first as associate director of public affairs and then as Sargent Shriver's deputy director before becoming special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson in November 1963.


Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Bill Moyers was a key player in the creation of the public broadcasting system.  When, in 1961, FCC Chairman Newton Minnow labeled television a  �
vast wasteland
�� and called for programming in the public interest, the Johnson Administration instituted a study of the issue
The Carnegie Corporation of New York established a commission
to study the value of and need for noncommercial educational television. Bill Moyers served on this committee, which released its report 'Public Television: A Program for Action,' in 1967.
Moyers said
of the endeavor: “We became a central part of the American consciousness and a valuable institution within our culture." Moyers was influential in creating the legislation that would fulfill the committee's recommendations. In 1967, President Johnson signed
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 () issued the congressional corporate charter for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private nonprofit corporation funded by taxpayers to disburse grants to public broadcasters in the United St ...
. (1) it is in the public interest to encourage the growth and development of public radio and television broadcasting, including the use of such media for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes; On the 50th anniversary of the Public Broadcasting Act, Moyers and
Joseph A. Califano, Jr. Joseph Anthony Califano Jr. (born May 15, 1931) is an American attorney, professor, and public servant. He is known for the roles he played in shaping welfare policies in the cabinets of Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Jimmy Carter and for ser ...
br>spoke about their experience
with WNET.


Johnson Administration

When Lyndon B. Johnson took office after the
Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...
, Moyers became a special assistant to Johnson, serving from 1963 to 1967. Moyers and Pamela Turnure are the last surviving people identifiable in the photograph taken of Johnson's
swearing in Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...
. He played a key role in organizing and supervising the 1964
Great Society The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65. The term was first coined during a 1964 commencement address by President Lyndon B. Johnson at the Universit ...
legislative task forces and was a principal architect of Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign. Moyers acted as the President's informal chief of staff from October 1964 until 1966. From July 1965 to February 1967, he also served as White House press secretary. After the resignation of White House Chief of Staff Walter Jenkins because of a sexual misdemeanor in the run up to the 1964 election, President Lyndon B. Johnson, alarmed that the opposition was framing the issue as a security breach, ordered Moyers to request FBI name checks on 15 members of
Goldwater's Goldwater's Department Store was a department store chain based in Phoenix, Arizona. History Michael Goldwater, the grandfather of U.S. Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, established a trading post in 1860 in Gila City, ...
staff to find "derogatory" material on their personal lives. Goldwater himself only referred to the Jenkins incident off the record. The
Church Committee The Church Committee (formally the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities) was a US Senate select committee in 1975 that investigated abuses by the Central Intelligence ...
stated in 1975 that "Moyers has publicly recounted his role in the incident, and his account is confirmed by FBI documents." In 2005, Laurence Silberman wrote that Moyers denied writing the memo in a 1975 phone call, telling him the FBI had fabricated it. Moyers said he had a different recollection of the telephone conversation. Moyers also sought information from the FBI on the sexual preferences of White House staff members, most notably
Jack Valenti Jack Joseph Valenti (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007) was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also the longtime president of the Motion Picture Associatio ...
. Moyers indicated his memory was unclear on why Johnson directed him to request such information, "but that he may have been simply looking for details of allegations first brought to the president by
Hoover Hoover may refer to: Music * Hoover (band), an American post-hardcore band * Hooverphonic, a Belgian band originally named Hoover * Hoover (singer), Willis Hoover, a country and western performer active in 1960s and '70s * "Hoover" (song), a 2016 ...
." Under the direction of President Johnson, Moyers gave J Edgar Hoover the go-ahead to discredit
Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
, played a part in the wiretapping of King, discouraged the American embassy in Oslo from assisting King on his Nobel Peace Prize trip, and worked to prevent King from challenging the all-white Mississippi delegation to the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Moyers approved (but had nothing to do with the production) of the infamous " Daisy Ad" against
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for president ...
in the 1964 presidential campaign. Goldwater blamed him for it, and once said of Moyers, "Every time I see him, I get sick to my stomach and want to throw up." The ad is considered the starting point of the modern-day harshly negative campaign ad. Journalist Morley Safer in his 1990 book "Flashbacks" wrote that Moyers and President Johnson met with and "harangued" Safer's boss, CBS president Frank Stanton, about Safer's coverage of the Marines torching Cam Ne village in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. During the meeting, Safer alleges, Johnson threatened to expose Safer's "communist ties". This was a bluff, according to Safer. Safer says that Moyers was "if not a key player, certainly a key bystander" in the incident. Moyers stated that his hard-hitting coverage of conservative presidents
Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
and Bush was behind Safer's 1990 allegations. In ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' on April 3, 1966, Moyers offered this insight on his stint as press secretary to President Johnson: "I work for him despite his faults and he lets me work for him despite my deficiencies." On October 17, 1967, he told an audience in Cambridge that Johnson saw the war in Vietnam as his major legacy and, as a result, was insisting on victory at all costs, even in the face of public opposition. Moyers felt such a continuation of the conflict would tear the country apart. "I never thought the situation could arise when I would wish for the defeat of LBJ, and that makes my current state of mind all the more painful to me," he told them. "I would have to say now: It would depend on who his opponent is." The full details of his rift with Johnson were not made public. However, an Oval Office tape which was recorded following Johnson's public announcement that he would not seek re-election on March 31, 1968, suggested that Moyers and Johnson were still in contact after Moyers left the White House, with Moyers even encouraging the President to change his mind about running.


Journalism


''Newsday''

Moyers served as publisher for the
Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18t ...
, daily newspaper ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...
'' from 1967 to 1970. The conservative publication had been unsuccessful,"Bill Moyers." Contemporary Heroes and Heroines, Book IV. Gale Group, 2000. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. but Moyers led the paper in a progressive direction, bringing in leading writers such as
Pete Hamill Pete Hamill (born William Peter Hamill; June 24, 1935August 5, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and editor. During his career as a New York City journalist, he was described as "the author of columns that sought to capture ...
,
Daniel Patrick Moynihan Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as a ...
, and
Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only w ...
, and adding new features and more investigative reporting and analysis. Circulation increased and the publication won 33 major journalism awards, including two
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
s. But the owner of the paper, Harry Guggenheim, a conservative, was disappointed by the liberal drift of the newspaper under Moyers, criticizing the "left-wing" coverage of Vietnam War protests. The two split over the 1968 presidential election, with Guggenheim signing an editorial supporting
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, when Moyers supported
Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing ...
. Guggenheim sold his majority share to the then-conservative
Times-Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...
over the attempt of newspaper employees to block the sale, even though Moyers offered $10 million more than the Times-Mirror purchase price; Moyers resigned a few days later.


CBS News

In 1976 Moyers joined
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the '' CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 4 ...
, where he worked as editor and chief correspondent for ''
CBS Reports ''CBS Reports'' is the umbrella title used for documentaries by CBS News which aired starting in 1959 through the 1990s. The series sometimes aired as a wheel series rotating with ''60 Minutes'' (or other similar CBS News series), as a series of it ...
'' until 1981, then as senior news analyst and commentator for the '' CBS Evening News with Dan Rather'' from 1981 to 1986. He was the last regular commentator for the network broadcast. During his last year at CBS, Moyers made public statements about declining news standards at the network and declined to renew his contract with CBS, citing commitments with PBS.


NBC News

Moyers briefly joined
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...
in 1995 as a senior analyst and commentator, and the following year he became the first host of sister cable network
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
's ''Insight'' program. He was the last regular commentator on the '' NBC Nightly News''.


PBS


''Bill Moyers Journal'' (1972-1981)

In 1971 Moyers began working for the Public Broadcasting System ( PBS). His first PBS series, titled ''This Week with Bill Moyers'', aired in 1971 and 1972. '' Bill Moyers Journal'' ran on PBS from 1972 until 1981 with a hiatus from 1976 to 1977. He later hosted a show with this title from 2007 to 2010. In 1975, Bill Moyers Journal aired ''Rosedale: The Way It Is,'' documenting the furor after the first Black family moved into Rosedale, Queens — including a rash of fire bombings. Forty-five years later a graduate student drew attention to a short segment recording the reactions of a group of black girls trying to make sense of the virulent racist attack they'd just experienced. ''The New York Times'' picked up on the story and found the children and others featured in the documentary and produced its own reported feature: " A Racist Attack on Children Was Taped in 1975. We Found Them."


Individual programs (1982-2006)

From 1982 through 2006, 70 different documentaries, interviews or limited series produced and hosted by Moyers ran on PBS stations. Individuals interviewed and profiled included: *
Mortimer J. Adler Mortimer Jerome Adler (December 28, 1902 – June 28, 2001) was an American philosopher, educator, encyclopedist, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. He lived for long stretches in New ...
(''Six Great Ideas'', 1982) *
Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the ...
('' Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth'', 1988) * Robert Bly (''A Gathering of Men'', 1990) *
John Henry Faulk John Henry Faulk (August 21, 1913 – April 9, 1990) was an American storyteller and radio show host. His successful lawsuit against the entertainment industry helped to bring an end to the Hollywood blacklist. Early life John Henry Faulk ...
(''The Man who Beat the Blacklist'', 1990) *
Bernice Johnson Reagon Bernice Johnson Reagon (born Bernice Johnson on October 4, 1942) is a song leader, composer, scholar, and social activist, who in the early 1960s was a founding member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee's (SNCC) Freedom Singers in th ...
(''The Songs are Free'', 1991) * Sam Keen (''Your Mythic Journey'', 1991) *
Oren Lyons Oren R. Lyons Jr. (born 1930, Seneca) is a Native American Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan. The Seneca are one of the Six Nations of the historic Haudenosaunee Confederacy.Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in F ...
(''Facing Hate'', 1991) * Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon (''A Life Together'', 1993) *
Janet Reno Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th United States attorney general. She held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving attorney general, behind only Wi ...
(''Attorney General Janet Reno'', 1993) * Rita Dove (''Poet Laureate Rita Dove'', 1994) *
Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...
(''Pure Pete Seeger'', 1994) *
Huston Smith Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – December 30, 2016) was an influential scholar of religious studies in the United States, He authored at least thirteen books on world's religions and philosophy, and his book about comparative religion, ' ...
(''The Wisdom of Faith'', 1996) * Bill T. Jones ('' Still/Here'', 1997) *
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbish ...
(''Archbishop Tutu'', 1999) *
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...
(''The Mythology of Star Wars'', 1999) Moyers also hosted a 6-part interview series called ''Creativity'' in 1982 and a 42-part interview series ''A World of Ideas'' from 1988-1990 which featured a companion book. Topics of Moyers broadcasts included: *History - ''A Walk Through the 20th Century'' (1982-1984), ''From D-Day to the Rhine'' (1990), ''The Power of the Past: Florence'' (1990), ''The Arab World'' (1991), ''Presenting Mr. Frederick Douglass'' (1994) *Religion - ''Heritage Conversations'' (1986), ''God and Politics'' (1987), ''Amazing Grace'' (1990), ''The New Holy War'' (1993), ''Genesis: A Living Conversation'' (1996), ''Faith and Reason'' (2006) *Morality - ''Facing Evil'' (1988), ''Beyond Hate'' (1991), ''Hate on Trial'' (1992), ''Facing the Truth'' (1999) *Politics - ''In Search of the Constitution'' (1987), ''The Home Front'' (1991), ''Money Talks'' (1994), ''Trading Democracy'' (2002), ''Capitol Crimes'' (2006) *The media - ''The Public Mind'' (1989), ''Project Censored'' (1991), ''Free Speech for Sale'' (1999), ''The Net at Risk'' (2006) *Contemporary events such as the Iran–Contra affair (''The Secret Government'', 1987), 1988 presidential election (''Election '88''), 1992 presidential election (''Listening to America'') and the 9/11 attacks (''Moyers in Conversation'') *Healthcare - ''Circle of Recovery'' (1991), ''Healing and the Mind'' (1993), ''The Great Healthcare debate'' (1994), ''Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home'' (1998), ''On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying'' (2000) *Poetry - ''The Power of the Word'' (1989), ''The Language of Life'' (1995), ''Fooling with Words'' (1999), ''Sounds of Poetry'' (1999) *The environment - ''Spirit and Nature'' (1991), ''Trade Secrets'' (2001), ''Earth on Edge'' (2001), ''America's First River'' (2003), ''Is God Green?'' (2006) *Money - ''Sports for sale'' (1991), ''Minimum Wages: The New Economy'' (1992), ''Bullish on America'' (1993), ''Surviving the Good Times'' (2000) *Youth issues - ''All Our Children'' (1991), ''Families First'' (1992), ''Solutions to Violence'' (1995), ''Children in America's Schools'' (1996) *Immigration - ''Becoming American'' (2003) These were often produced by Moyers and his wife, Judith Suzanne Davidson Moyers, through Public Affairs Television, a company they formed in 1986. Other collaborators included filmmaker David Grubin and producer Madeline Amgott


''Frontline'' (1990-1999)

Between 1990 and 1999, Moyers produced and hosted 7 episodes of the PBS journalism program ''
Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...
'': *''Global Dumping Ground'' (1990) on toxic waste *''Springfield Goes to War'' (1990) on the debate around the
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
*''High Crimes and Misdemeanors'' (1990) on the Iran–Contra affair *''In Our Children's Food'' (1993) on pesticides *''Living on the Edge'' (1995) on the economy *''Washington's Other Scandal'' (1998) on campaign finance *''Justice for Sale'' (1999) on judicial elections


''NOW with Bill Moyers'' and ''Wide Angle'' (2002-2005)

Moyers hosted the TV news journal '' NOW with Bill Moyers'' on PBS for three years, starting in January 2002. He retired from the program on December 17, 2004, but returned to PBS soon after to host ''
Wide Angle Wide angle may refer to: * Wide-angle lens, type of camera lens * ''Wide Angle'' (TV series), television series * '' Wide Angle'', 1999 album by Hybrid * '' Wide Angles'', 2003 album by Michael Brecker * Wide-angle X-ray scattering * Wide Angle ...
'' in 2005. When he left ''NOW'', he announced that he wished to finish writing a biography of Lyndon B. Johnson.


''Bill Moyers Journal'' (2007-2010)

On April 25, 2007, Moyers returned to PBS with '' Bill Moyers Journal''. In the first episode, "Buying the War", Moyers investigated what he called the general media's shortcomings in the runup to the War in Iraq. "Buying the War" won an Emmy at th
29th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards
(2008) for Best Report in a News Magazine. On November 20, 2009, Moyers announced that he would be retiring from his weekly show on April 30, 2010.


''Moyers & Company'' (2012-2015)

In August 2011 Moyers announced a new hour-long weekly interview show, ''
Moyers & Company ''Moyers & Company'' was a commentary and interview television show hosted by Bill Moyers, and broadcast via syndication on public television stations in the United States. The weekly show covered current affairs affecting everyday Americans, and ...
'', which premiered in January 2012. In that same month, Moyers also launche
BillMoyers.com
Later reduced to a half hour, ''Moyers & Company'' was produced by Public Affairs Television and distributed by American Public Television. The show has been heralded as a renewed fulfillment of public media's stated mission to air news and views unrepresented or underrepresented in commercial media. The program concluded on January 2, 2015.


''Moyers on Democracy'' podcast

In 2020, Moyers started a series of podcasts named ''Moyers on Democracy''. Conversations included Lisa Graves on the
Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...
conflict; Heather Cox Richardson on ''How the South Won the Civil War;''
Heather McGhee Heather Charisse McGhee is a New York Times bestselling author and policy advocate. She is a former president and currently a trustee emeritus of Demos, a non-profit progressive U.S. think tank. McGhee is a regular contributor to NBC News and freq ...
on racism's pernicious effect on American society and Bill T. Jones on his newest project — a retelling of '' Moby Dick'' from the viewpoint of a Black cabin boy. The series ended in early 2021.


Awards

In 1995, Bill Moyers was inducted into the
Television Hall of Fame The Television Academy Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. television. The hall of fame was founded by former Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) president John H. Mitchell (1921–1988). ...
. The same year, he also won the
Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism The Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism is an annual award presented by Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The recipient is deemed to represent a leading figure in the journalism ...
. When he became a recipient of the 2006 Lifetime
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
, the official announcement noted that “Bill Moyers has devoted his lifetime to the exploration of the major issues and ideas of our time and our country, giving television viewers an informed perspective on political and societal concerns," and that "The scope of and quality of his broadcasts have been honored time and again. It is fitting that the
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...
honor him with our highest honor—the Lifetime Achievement Award." He has received well over thirty Emmys and virtually every other major television journalism prize, including a gold baton from the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, a lifetime
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
, and a George Polk Career Award (his third George Polk Award) for contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
, and has been the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, including a doctorate from the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...
. In 2011, Moyers received the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from
Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...
.


Media criticism

In a 2003 interview with BuzzFlash.com, Moyers said, "The corporate right and the political right declared class warfare on working people a quarter of a century ago and they've won." He noted, "The rich are getting richer, which arguably wouldn't matter if the rising tide lifted all boats." Instead, however, " e inequality gap is the widest it's been since 1929; the middle class is besieged and the working poor are barely keeping their heads above water." He added that as "the corporate and governing elites are helping themselves to the spoils of victory," access to political power has become "who gets what and who pays for it." Meanwhile, the public has failed to react because it is, in his words, "distracted by the media circus and news has been neutered or politicized for partisan purposes." In support of this, he referred to "the paradox of Rush Limbaugh, ensconced in a Palm Beach mansion massaging the resentments across the country of white-knuckled wage earners, who are barely making ends meet in no small part because of the corporate and ideological forces for whom Rush has been a hero. ... As Eric Alterman reports in his recent book—a book that I'm proud to have helped make happen—part of the red-meat strategy is to attack mainstream media relentlessly, knowing that if the press is effectively intimidated, either by the accusation of liberal bias or by a reporter's own mistaken belief in the charge's validity, the institutions that conservatives revere—corporate America, the military, organized religion, and their own ideological bastions of influence—will be able to escape scrutiny and increase their influence over American public life with relatively no challenge." When he briefly retired in December 2004, the AP News Service quoted Moyers as saying, "I'm going out telling the story that I think is the biggest story of our time: how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in ...
. We have an ideological press that's interested in the election of Republicans, and a mainstream press that's interested in the bottom line. Therefore, we don't have a vigilant, independent press whose interest is the American people."


Presidential draft initiative

On July 24, 2006, liberal political commentator Molly Ivins published an article entitled ''Run Bill Moyers for President, Seriously'', urging a symbolic candidacy, on the progressive website Truthdig. The call was taken up in October 2006 by
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...
. Moyers did not run.


Conflict with CPB over content

In 2003,
Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
chairman
Kenneth Tomlinson Kenneth Y. Tomlinson (August 3, 1944 – May 1, 2014) was an editor at ''Reader's Digest'' and American government official. He was also chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which manages Voice of America radio, and Chairman of the B ...
wrote to Pat Mitchell, the president of PBS, that '' NOW with Bill Moyers'' "does not contain anything approaching the balance the law requires for public broadcasting." In 2005, Tomlinson commissioned a study of the show, without informing or getting authorization from the CPB board. The study was conducted by, Fred Mann, Tomlinson's choice, a 20-year veteran of the American Conservative Union and a conservative columnist. Like the study itself, Mann's appointment was not disclosed to the CPB. Tomlinson said that the study supported what he characterized as "the image of the left-wing bias of NOW". George Neumayr, the executive editor of '' The American Spectator'', a conservative magazine, told the '' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer'' that "PBS looks like a liberal monopoly to me, and Bill Moyers is Exhibit A of that very strident, left-wing bias... oyersuses his show as a platform from which to attack conservatives and Republicans." The Reporters Committee on the Freedom of the Press was vocal about the danger of the CPB chairman interfering with programming independence. The PBS Ombudsman and the Free Press noted that a poll taken in 2003 by the CPB itself found that 80 percent of Americans believe PBS to be "fair and balanced." In a speech given to The National Conference for Media Reform, Moyers said that he had repeatedly invited Tomlinson to have a televised conversation with him on the subject but had been ignored. On November 3, 2005, Tomlinson resigned from the board, prompted by a report of his tenure by the CPB Inspector General, Kenneth Konz, requested by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The report, which found that Tomlinson violated the Director's Code of Ethics and the statutory provisions of the CPB and PBS, was made public on November 15. It states:
We found evidence that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) former Chairman violated statutory provisions and the Director's Code of Ethics by dealing directly with one of the creators of a new public affairs program during negotiations with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the CPB over creating the show. Our review also found evidence that suggests "political tests" were a major criteria nowiki/>''sic''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="nowiki/>''sic">nowiki/>''sic''">sic.html" ;"title="nowiki/>''sic">nowiki/>''sic''used by the former Chairman in recruiting a President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for CPB, which violated statutory prohibitions against such practices.
In 2006, the PBS Ombudsman, whose role was reinvigorated by the controversy published a column entitled "He's Back: Moyers, not Tomlinson." Reflecting on the conflict, Moyers told ''The Boston Globe'': "It's a place where if you fight you can survive, but it's not easy. The fact of the matter is that Kenneth Tomlinson had a chilling effect down the line."


Organizations

Moyers is a former director of the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...
(1967–1974), and a member of the Bilderberg Group and since 1990 has been president of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy.


Personal life

Moyers married Judith Suzanne Davidson (a producer) on December 18, 1954. They have three children and five grandchildren. His son William Cope Moyers ( CNN producer,
Hazelden Foundation The Hazelden Foundation is an American non-profit organization based in Center City, Minnesota. Hazelden has alcohol and drug treatment facilities in Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, Florida, Washington, and New York. It offers assessment and prima ...
spokesman) struggled to overcome alcoholism and crack addiction as detailed in the book ''Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption''. He includes letters from Bill Moyers in his book, which he says are "a testament to a father's love for his son, a father's confusion with his son, and ultimately, a father's satisfaction with his son." His other son, John Moyers, assisted in the foundation of
TomPaine.com TomPaine.com was a website with news and opinion on United States politics from a progressive perspective, named after the political writer Thomas Paine. It featured a mixture of original articles and links to articles on other websites. TomPaine ...
, "an online public affairs journal of progressive analysis and commentary." His daughter, Suzanne Moyers, a former teacher and editor, is the author of the historical novel, ‘''Til All These Thing Be Done'' (She Writes Press; September 13, 2022'').''


Published works

*''Listening to America: A Traveler Rediscovers His Country'' (1971), Harper's Magazine Press, *''The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis : With Excerpts from an Essay on Watergate'' (1988), coauthor Henry Steele Commager, Seven Locks Press, hardcover: , 1990 reprint: , 2000 paperback: ; examines the Iran-Contra affair *''The Power of Myth'' (1988), host: Bill Moyers, author: Joseph Campbell, Doubleday, * A World of Ideas : Conversations With Thoughtful Men and Women About American Life Today and the Ideas Shaping Our Future (1989), Doubleday, hardcover: , paperback: *''A World of Ideas II: Public Opinions from Private Citizens'' (1990), Doubleday, hardcover: , paperback: , 1994 Random House values edition: *''Healing and the Mind'' (1993), Doubleday hardcover: , 1995 paperback: *''The Language of Life'' (1995), Doubleday hardcover: , 1996 paperback: , conversations with 34 poets *''Genesis: A Living Conversation'' (1996), Doubleday hardcover: , 1997 paperback: *''Sister Wendy in Conversation With Bill Moyers: The Complete Conversation'' (1997), WGBH Educational Foundation, *''Fooling with Words: A Celebration of Poets and Their Craft'' (1999), William Morrow, hardcover: , 2000 Harper paperback: *''Moyers on America: A Journalist and His Times'' (2004), New Press, , 2005 Anchor paperback: ; twenty selected speeches and commentaries, Interview with Terri Gross on ''Fresh Air''. *''Moyers on Democracy'' (2008), Doubleday, * ''Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues'' (2011), New Press


See also

*'' Path to War''


References


External links


Bill Moyers website and video library
*
Essays by Bill Moyers

Bill Moyers channel on Vimeo

Bill Moyers appearances on C-SPAN

Bill Moyers appearances on Charlie Rose
*
Bill Moyers Soundcloud channel



Bill Moyers January 2007 Address to the National Conference for Media, Memphis, Tennessee 'Life on the Plantation'

Bill Moyers Speech at 2008 National Conference for Media Reform (video)

Bill Moyers: "The Radical Right Wing Is Very Close to Achieving a Longtime Goal of Undermining the Independence of Public Broadcasting"
– interview on Democracy Now!
Bill Moyers Howard Zinn Lecture
(video) Bill Moyers lecture at Boston University , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moyers, Bill 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists 1934 births Alumni of the University of Edinburgh American male journalists American media critics American television news anchors Baptists from Texas Emmy Award winners George Polk Award recipients Living people Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group National Humanities Medal recipients Newsday people Peabody Award winners People from Bernardsville, New Jersey People from Hugo, Oklahoma People from Marshall, Texas Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni Texas Democrats United Church of Christ members Moody College of Communication alumni White House Press Secretaries Baptists from Oklahoma Recipients of the Four Freedoms Award Members of the American Philosophical Society