Bill Moyers, a former White House press secretary to Lyndon B. Johnson who became the thoughtful voice of public television, has died. He was 91.
Moyers died in a New York City hospital on June 26 following a "long illness" and complications from prostate cancer, his longtime friend Tom Johnson, the former CEO of CNN, confirmed. Tom Johnson was an assistant to Moyers during Lyndon Johnson’s administration and compared his former boss to past legends of broadcast journalism, such as CBS's legendary Edward R. Murrow.
"In five decades of broadcast journalism, Bill reached the very highest standards of excellence in journalism. I believe he reached the same stature as Edward R. Murrow," Johnson tells USA TODAY. "He was one of President Johnson’s most trusted advisors and in many ways was the son that LBJ never had."
Moyers won 35 Emmy Awards in his storied career, primarily for his work on PBS as host of "Frontline" and "Bill Moyers Journal." His career was punctuated by the 1988 landmark series, "Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth,” a series of six one-hour interviews with Campbell, the prominent mythologist and religious scholar. The accompanying book became a national bestseller, with both series popularizing Campbell's phrase, "Follow your bliss."
