Bill Moyers, White House Aide Turned TV News Icon, Dies

Bill Moyers passed away after a five-decade career that included political service, public media advocacy, and broadcast journalism.

In 2017, Bill Moyers gave a speech at an event.

Moyers passed away at a New York City hospital on Thursday, June 26. He was ninety-one.

From his early years serving as President Lyndon Johnson’s press secretary to his decades-long appearances on PBS and CBS, Moyers established a reputation for civic engagement, intellectual curiosity, and public trust.

The most well-known work that Moyers did was host and produce popular PBS shows including Frontline, Bill Moyers Journal, and Now with Bill Moyers. He received numerous Primetime Emmys and Peabody Awards for his efforts.

In the 1980s, he served as chief correspondent for CBS Reports before joining the CBS Evening News as a senior news analyst and commentator.

Later on, he worked as an NBC analyst.

He was born Billy Don Moyers in Hugo, Oklahoma, and grew up in Texas. He started working as a cub reporter for his hometown daily newspaper at the age of sixteen and graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in journalism.

He first became acquainted with LBJ in the 1950s while working as a summer intern for the senator at the time. From 1965 until 1967, he served as the youngest White House press secretary in history. During Johnson’s presidency, he also worked as a communications strategist, speechwriter, and trusted advisor.

Following his departure from the White House, Moyers served on the Carnegie Commission, which established the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and contributed to the development of public broadcasting. Later, he became a publisher for Newsday, situated in Long Island.

Throughout it all, Moyers continued to be an outspoken opponent of corporate media and supporter of independent reporting. He famously remarked, “We became a central part of the American consciousness,” in reference to TV.

His spouse, Judith Suzanne Davidson Moyers, as well as their kids and grandkids, survive him.