BILL MOYERS
Name: Bill Moyers
Born: 5 June 1934 Hugo, Oklahoma, United States
Bill D. Moyers (born June 5, 1934, as Billy Don Moyers) is an American
journalist and public commentator.
Born in Hugo, Oklahoma, and raised in Texas, Moyers began his journalism career
at the age of sixteen as a cub reporter at the Marshall News Messenger in
Marshall, Texas. He and his wife, the former Judith Davidson, have three
children and five grandchildren. He is currently president of the Schumann
Center for Media and Democracy and lives in New York City. In April 2007, Moyers
returned to PBS with Bill Moyers Journal.
Bill Moyers studied journalism at the University of North Texas. In 1954, he
worked as a summer intern for Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson, eventually being in
charge of Johnson's personal mail before his internship was finished. Moyers
soon transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where he wrote for The
Daily Texan newspaper and graduated in 1956. While in Austin, Moyers worked as
an assistant to the news editor for KTBC Radio and Television, a station owned
by Lady Bird Johnson. During the academic year 1956-1957 he studied at the
University of Edinburgh as a Rotary International Fellow. In 1957, he received a
Bachelor of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Fort Worth. He was ordained two years later after working as a minister. He
planned to enter a PhD program at the University of Texas and briefly accepted a
lectureship in Christian ethics at Baylor University. During Lyndon Johnson's
unsuccessful bid for the 1960 Democratic 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
hopeful, John F. Kennedy.
During the Kennedy Administration, Moyers was first appointed as associate
director of public affairs for the newly created Peace Corps in 1961. He served
as Deputy Director from 1962-63. When Johnson took office after the Kennedy
assassination, Moyers became a special assistant to Johnson, serving from 1963-1967.
He played a key role in organizing and supervising the 1964 Great Society
legislative task forces and was a principal architect of Johnson's 1964
presidential campaign. When Walter Jenkins resigned from Johnson's staff in
October 1964, Moyers became the President's informal chief of staff until 1966.
From July 1965 to February 1967, he also served as White House Press Secretary.
In the New York Times 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." The details of his rift
with Johnson have not been made public, but may be discussed in a forthcoming
memoir.
Name: Bill Moyers
Born: 5 June 1934 Hugo, Oklahoma, United States
Bill D. Moyers (born June 5, 1934, as Billy Don Moyers) is an American
journalist and public commentator.
Born in Hugo, Oklahoma, and raised in Texas, Moyers began his journalism career
at the age of sixteen as a cub reporter at the Marshall News Messenger in
Marshall, Texas. He and his wife, the former Judith Davidson, have three
children and five grandchildren. He is currently president of the Schumann
Center for Media and Democracy and lives in New York City. In April 2007, Moyers
returned to PBS with Bill Moyers Journal.
Bill Moyers studied journalism at the University of North Texas. In 1954, he
worked as a summer intern for Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson, eventually being in
charge of Johnson's personal mail before his internship was finished. Moyers
soon transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where he wrote for The
Daily Texan newspaper and graduated in 1956. While in Austin, Moyers worked as
an assistant to the news editor for KTBC Radio and Television, a station owned
by Lady Bird Johnson. During the academic year 1956-1957 he studied at the
University of Edinburgh as a Rotary International Fellow. In 1957, he received a
Bachelor of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Fort Worth. He was ordained two years later after working as a minister. He
planned to enter a PhD program at the University of Texas and briefly accepted a
lectureship in Christian ethics at Baylor University. During Lyndon Johnson's
unsuccessful bid for the 1960 Democratic 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
hopeful, John F. Kennedy.
During the Kennedy Administration, Moyers was first appointed as associate
director of public affairs for the newly created Peace Corps in 1961. He served
as Deputy Director from 1962-63. When Johnson took office after the Kennedy
assassination, Moyers became a special assistant to Johnson, serving from 1963-1967.
He played a key role in organizing and supervising the 1964 Great Society
legislative task forces and was a principal architect of Johnson's 1964
presidential campaign. When Walter Jenkins resigned from Johnson's staff in
October 1964, Moyers became the President's informal chief of staff until 1966.
From July 1965 to February 1967, he also served as White House Press Secretary.
In the New York Times 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." The details of his rift
with Johnson have not been made public, but may be discussed in a forthcoming
memoir.