Bill Moyers, Longtime PBS and CBS Journalist and Documentarian, Dies at 91

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Bill Moyers, a former White House Press Secretary and newspaper editor, who spent forty decades making significant contributions to broadcast journalism and documentary filmmaking for PBS and CBS, passed away on Thursday. He was ninety-one years old.

Moyers passed away at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City following a prolonged illness, as reported by the Associated Press, according to his son William.

Bill Moyers was responsible for hosting, writing, and producing a variety of PBS shows such as “Bill Moyers’ Journal”, “Moyers & Company”, “A World of Ideas”, “Frontline”, “Now With Bill Moyers”, “Creativity With Bill Moyers”, and “A Walk Through the 20th Century” from 1971 to 2010. During this period, he garnered two Peabody Awards, three Humanitas Prizes, and four Primetime Emmys as accolades for his work.

A charismatic individual with a gentle Southern drawl from Texas, he excelled at lengthy interviews, tackling tough societal and political matters with sharp, down-to-earth analysis. Unflinchingly expressing his opinions, he championed liberal ideologies and backed groups like Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and Take Back America.

2004 saw David Carr pen an article for The New York Times, stating that Mr. Moyers stands out amidst the era of television shouting. Unlike his contemporaries, he speaks calmly with a restrained tone. However, he effectively uses documentary techniques to deliver powerful blows, criticizing corporate polluters and government officials who fall short. His bias towards certain targets has won him loyalty from public television viewers but also drawn the ire of conservative critics.

In 1976, Moyers left PBS to take up the roles of editor and chief correspondent for CBS Reports. Additionally, he produced mini-documentaries titled On the Road, and provided analysis and commentary for the CBS Evening News With Dan Rather, starting in 1981. His annual salary was $1 million.

1986 saw me parting ways with CBS in a rather acrimonious departure, as I felt the boundary between entertainment and news at the network was becoming increasingly indistinct. To maintain my creative independence and continue sharing insightful content, I established Public Affairs Television, where I could produce and distribute my programs. Notably, some of these shows were later transcribed into books, such as “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth“, which held a spot on the Times‘ bestseller list for over a year.

Moyers was frequently lauded as the moral compass of America, much like Walter Cronkite, holding great trust among the public. However, despite speculations about him running for president under the Democratic Party, he never showed interest in doing so.

In 2006, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Emmy. This recognition was in appreciation for his lifelong commitment to delving into significant issues and ideas that shape our time and nation, providing television viewers with a well-informed viewpoint on political and societal matters.

Born on June 5, 1934, in Hugo, Oklahoma, Billy Don Moyers, the youngest of two brothers, hailed from a family where his father, Henry, worked as a truck driver, and his mother, Ruby, took care of the household.

Born and bred in Marshall, Texas, he kick-started his journalism journey working as an apprentice journalist for the Marshall News Messenger. During his sophomore year at Marshall High School, he even oversaw the sports section of the newspaper.

During the summer of 1954, he worked as an intern at North Texas State College. This opportunity came about after he wrote a bold letter to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson in Washington, eventually landing the position. As he reminisced during a 2001 conversation with the Television Academy Foundation’s The Interviews website, he said, “I told him, ‘I can share insights about young people in Texas if you can share insights about politics.’

Moyers completed his journalism degree from the University of Texas in 1956, while simultaneously working at KTBC-TV, a television station owned by Lady Bird Johnson, wife of then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. Afterward, he spent a year studying abroad in Scotland and later earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth in 1960. (Notably, he presided over the wedding ceremony of George Lucas and Mellody Hobson at Skywalker Ranch in 2013.)

Moyers teamed up with Lyndon Johnson, who was later selected as Vice President under John F. Kennedy, during the 1960 presidential race. He played a significant role in establishing the Peace Corps within the Kennedy administration, starting in March 1961. He worked under Sargent Shriver, the president’s brother-in-law, as deputy director for this initiative.

After Kennedy’s assassination, Johnson took over as president, with Moyers continuing his role as Johnson’s advisor and special assistant. During Johnson’s 1964 re-election campaign against Republican Barry Goldwater, Moyers was deeply involved and authorized the airing of the contentious “Daisy” TV commercial. In this advertisement, a girl picks petals from a flower while counting them, followed by another countdown leading to a nuclear explosion on screen.

In an interview, Moyers stated that he didn’t speak about Goldwater directly and it wasn’t a personal attack. Instead, he expressed worry over who would control the nuclear button. He referred to it as a subtle advertisement, although he hadn’t known the term back then. Goldwater never let go of his belief that Moyers played a part in it, until the very end of his life.

Following a massive victory by Johnson, I had the honor to serve as White House Press Secretary from 1965-67. In that role, I was admired and featured on the covers of prestigious magazines like Time and Newsweek during my first year. However, after some time, I decided to resign to take on a new challenge as publisher of Newsday in 1967.

During Pete Hamill’s three-year stint as a columnist for the Long Island newspaper, it secured two Pulitzer Prizes. However, this association ended when the newspaper was sold to the Times Mirror Company, despite Jim Moyers presenting a more attractive offer to purchase the paper, which was turned down.

Afterward, he embarked on a journey across the nation, spending four months, for Harper’s magazine, in a “rediscovery tour.” During this time, he penned the 1971 book “Listening to America,” which turned out to be a massive success.

Following this, Bill Moyers was employed by the New York public TV station WNET to host a weekly half-hour show titled “Bill Moyers’ Journal“. This program featured the first significant interview with Jimmy Carter prior to his recognition beyond Plains, Georgia, as well as an esteemed “Essay on Watergate” in 1973.

Moyers believed that individuals needed to refresh themselves by changing their circumstances approximately every five years. This idea stemmed from his successful lobbying efforts to establish a five-year term limit for volunteers serving in the Peace Corps, which was set by Congress.

As a long-time gamer, I’ve always believed in the importance of keeping our gaming community fresh and vibrant. It’s crucial for new blood to keep flowing in, to bring fresh perspectives and ideas. And let’s face it, if us veterans don’t step aside occasionally, that won’t happen.

He also worked for NBC and MSNBC in the mid-1990s.

In December 1954, Moyers tied the knot with his North Texas State University classmate Judith Davidson. Later, she held the position of president at Public Affairs Television. Together, they raised three kids, named William, John, and Alice.

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2025-06-26 23:55