Moyers, Bill

Moyers, (Billy Don) Bill (1934–  ) public official, television journalist/producer; born in Hugo, Okla. While still in high school he worked for his local (Marshall, Texas) newspaper. While in college, he wrote to Senator Lyndon Johnson and got himself a summer internship, soon becoming a trusted aide; he went back to Texas to work at Mrs. Johnson's radio and television station while attending the University of Texas. After a year at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, he earned his degree in divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary (Waco, Texas) (1959), but he joined Senator Johnson's staff. When Johnson became vice-president, Moyers became his top assistant, but after a month he resigned to become an associate director of the new Peace Corps; he was made its deputy director in 1962. As president, Johnson appointed Moyers a special assistant (1964–65) then press secretary (1965–67). Moyers left to become the publisher of Newsday (1967–70). In 1971 he hosted WNET's (New York City's public television station) This Week, followed by Bill Moyers Journal (1971–76, 1978–81), with a break to serve as a correspondent for CBS Reports (1976–78); he returned to CBS to do news analysis (1981–86). He returned to public television where he began to produce a series of shows based on interviewing leading thinkers from various fields. Two of his series, Joseph Campbell and the Power of the Myth (1988) and A World of Ideas (1989–90), were also converted into best-selling books. His 1992 television series, Healing and the Mind, which examined alternatives to traditional medicine, continued his commitment to imbue contemporary issues with questions of ultimate values.