Public Affairs Television

Bill Moyers was born in Hugo, Oklahoma in 1934. He began his career in journalism at age sixteen as a cub reporter at the Marshall News Messenger in Marshall, Texas. He went on to enroll at North Texas State College and study journalism, later transferring to continue his studies at the University of Texas at Austin. While there, Moyers wrote for the Daily Texan, UT’s student newspaper. He also married Judith Suzanne Davidson, with whom he eventually had three children. In 1956, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. From 1956 to 1957, Moyers studied issues of church and state at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland as a Rotary International Fellow. Upon his return to Texas, he trained in the Baptist Ministry. In 1959, he received his Masters of Divinity at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Moyers began a career in government serving as the Personal Assistant to Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson from 1960 to 1961. In 1961, he was appointed the Associate Director of Public Affairs for the Peace Corps. He served as the Deputy Director of the Peace Corps from 1963-1964. Afterwards, he joined Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential staff as a special assistant. His duties included organizing Johnson’s 1964 presidential campaign and organizing and supervising the 1964 Great Society task force. He served as chief of staff on the campaign from 1964 to 1967 and press secretary from 1963 to 1967.

After his government career, Moyers returned to journalism: first as publisher of Newsday from 1967 to 1970, and then as a broadcast journalist and author from 1971 to 2010. During his career in public broadcasting, Moyers was known for his “deep-think” style of journalism. He conducted in-depth interviews with bureaucratic leaders, social critics, famous writers, and other people involved with American and global issues. Moyers created and hosted the public affairs program Bill Moyers Journal on public television (1971–1976, 1978–1981, 2007–2010) and served as a news analyst for CBS News (1981–1986). In 1987, he formed Public Affairs TV, Inc., producing such television specials and series as A World of Ideas (1989), Healing and the Mind (1990), Genesis (1996), NOW with Bill Moyers (2002–2004), and Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason (2006).

Moyers published six books: Listening to America (1971), Report from Philadelphia (1987), The Secret Government (1988), The Power of Myth (1989), A World of Ideas II (1990), and Healing and the Mind (1993). He drew inspiration for his published works from his experiences on public television. In 1989, he was awarded an Honorary Degree in Fine Arts from the American Film Institute. Moyers has won more than 30 Emmy Awards, including a lifetime achievement award (2006). In 2007 Bill Moyers returned to PBS where he hosted Bill Moyers Journal . The last episode of aired April 30, 2010.

Sources:

Bill Moyers. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1312721/Bill-Moyers (accessed January 14, 2011).

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. Bill Moyers Biographical Note. http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/holdings/Findingaids/Aides/Moyers/MoyersBio.asp (accessed November 14, 2010).

The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Moyers, Bill: U.S. Broadcast Journalist . http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/moyesrbill/moyersbill.htm (accessed January 14, 2011).

American Film Institute. 2003 Annual Report. www.afi.com/Docs/about/annualreport/afi2003annualreport.pdf (accessed January 14, 2011).

From the guide to the Moyers, Bill, Papers 2010-157; 2010-183; 2011-043; 2011-075; 2011-112; 2011; 2011-120; 2011-248; 2011-249., 1971-2010, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)