The LBJ Presidential Library, LBJ Foundation and Johnson family remember Bill Moyers

Press Releases | Jun, 26 2025

Bill Moyers

Bill Moyers and his wife, Judith, have been part of the LBJ family, beginning with his work in the Johnson Administration and continuing through his frequent appearances at the LBJ Presidential Library along with their unwavering support of Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson's legacies.

Moyers delivered the inaugural address in the Tom Johnson Lecture Series, gave an eloquent and gracious eulogy at the funeral of Mrs. Johnson and has shared his insights with numerous audiences of all ages at the LBJ Library.

Moyers began his journalism career at age 16 as a cub reporter for his hometown daily newspaper in Marshall, Texas. In 1954, U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson employed him as a summer intern and eventually promoted him to manage his personal mail. Soon after, Moyers transferred to The University of Texas at Austin, where he wrote for The Daily Texan newspaper, graduating in 1956. While in Austin, Moyers served as assistant news editor for KTBC radio and television stations owned by Lady Bird Johnson, wife of Senator Johnson. During Senator Johnson's unsuccessful bid for the 1960 Democratic nomination for president, Moyers served as a top aide, and in the general campaign, he acted as liaison between vice presidential candidate Johnson and the Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy. Moyers was on Air Force 1 when Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president following Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963.

Bill Moyers was a key figure in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, serving as a trusted advisor, speechwriter, and communications strategist during a transformative period in American history. A native Texan with a background in journalism and theology, Moyers first collaborated with Johnson during his early Senate campaigns and quickly rose to become one of the president’s closest confidants. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Moyers was appointed Special Assistant to the President. In this role, he became heavily involved in coordinating policy initiatives, managing public messaging, and drafting some of Johnson’s most important speeches. Moyers played a central role in developing and promoting Johnson’s Great Society agenda, an ambitious domestic policy program to eliminate poverty, expand civil rights, and improve education and healthcare nationwide.
 
From 1965 to 1967, Bill Moyers served as White House Press Secretary, where he was recognized for his calm and articulate presence. He had a talent for communicating complex policies with clarity and conviction. His press briefings were crucial in stabilizing public perception during a rapid social and political change. Although Moyers was intensely loyal to President Lyndon B. Johnson, he became increasingly troubled by the administration’s escalation of the Vietnam War. He left the White House in 1967 and later reflected on the moral and political tensions he faced during his tenure. Moyers became a distinguished journalist and public intellectual, producing acclaimed documentaries and conducting interviews on ethics, politics, and social justice. His experience with Johnson remains a defining chapter in his life and the broader story of the American government in the 1960s.

Moyers was Deputy Director of the Peace Corps and then worked as a Special Assistant to Lyndon Johnson from 1963-1967, including two years, from 1965 to 1967, as White House Press Secretary. 

Remembering Bill Moyers

LBJ Library Photo by Yoichi Okamoto
Bill Moyers, left, and President Lyndon Johnson meet in the Oval Office on August, 24, 1965. LBJ Library Photo by Yoichi Okamoto.
LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto
Bill Moyers, left, and President Lyndon Johnson during a lunch for network news presidents and bureau chiefs on July 22, 1966. LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto.
LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin
Bill Moyers speaking at the Presidential Leadership Scholars program held at the LBJ Presidential Library on June 16, 2017. LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin.
LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin
Bill Moyers at the LBJ Presidential Library on June 14, 2018. LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin.

Bill Moyers: As publisher of Newsday from 1967 to 1970, Moyers brought aboard writers including Pete Hamill, Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Saul Bellow, and led the paper to two Pulitzer Prizes

Bill Moyers established Public Affairs Television in 1986, served as executive editor of Bill Moyers' Journal on PBS, senior news analyst for CBS Evening News, and chief correspondent for the documentary series CBS Reports. He received more than 30 Emmy Awards, two prestigious Gold Baton awards from the Alfred I. DuPont Columbia University Award, nine Peabody awards, and three George Polk Awards, among others.

For his work, Bill Moyers has received more than 30 Emmys, two prestigious Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia University Awards, nine Peabodys, and three George Polk Awards. Moyers received the prestigious Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the American Film Institute in the first year it was bestowed. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he also received the Career Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association and has been honored by the Television Critics Association for outstanding career achievement.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications calls Moyers "One of the few broadcast journalists who might be said to approach the stature of Edward R. Murrow. If Murrow founded broadcast journalism, Moyers significantly extended its traditions."

Moyers' books include such bestsellers as Listening to America, The Power of Myth, Healing and the Mind, The Language of Life, Moyers on America: A Journalist and His Times, and Moyers on Democracy. His most recent book, Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues, was published in May 2011.

In 2017, when Moyers retired from BillMoyers.com, he asked his constituents, "…please remain vigilant and engaged as citizens in the civic and political life of your community and our country. Democracy is fragile, and no one can say with certainty that it can withstand the manifold risks to which it is now exposed."

https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-mythic-rise-of-billy-don-moyers/

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“Bill Moyers was a trusted advisor and friend to my parents, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, and to me. Raised in East Texas like my mother, he began working as a 19-year-old intern when my father was Senate Majority Leader, eventually becoming press secretary. Bill was a gentle soul with a tenacious work ethic and unrivaled compassion for others. My life has been enriched by knowing Bill Moyers, who lived a life of purpose, moral conviction, wisdom, and faith.” - Lynda

“Bill and our family’s lives were intertwined for over 70 years. He had unquenchable curiosity and total integrity.  He rose from being a student employee to being my father’s press secretary. Bill dedicated the last chapters of his life with his beloved wife, Judith, to unequaled documentaries. They were the pride and joy of PBS as well as PBS’s creator Lyndon Johnson. Generations of our family went to Bill for counsel in the best of times and the worst of times. For all time he was our pride and joy.” – Luci

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