Bill Moyers Retiring From Weekly Television

[Truth2Tell]

Source: The Huffington Post

Bill Moyers is leaving weekly television.

The New York Times' Elizabeth Jensen reports that the PBS newscaster is retiring from his Friday night program, "Bill Moyers Journal," on April 30, 2010.

"Bill Moyers Journal" launched in April 2007.

Jensen reports that it was Moyers' intention to retire at Christmas this year, but PBS asked him to stay on through April to help raise funds.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/20/bill-moyers-re...

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Damn.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. That fucking stinks. But he does have his own life to live. Oh well... nt

[Mind_your_head]

2. Noooooooooo

Bill, just b/c Oprah is 'quitting' doesn't mean you should follow! We NEED you Bill. Don't go.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

47. ONE OF THE FEW CONSISTENTLY INTELLIGENT PROGRAMS ON T.V.

A TREASURE HOUSE OF KNOWLEGE

[BeyondGeography]

3. Hopefully, he still does programming for them on some level, if not weekly

He's still the best.

[Bigmack]

4. Who needs Moyers..?

All he ever has on his shows are eggheads and quiet, thoughtful people who make us think. He never has any shooting, or nudity, or ranting and raving. WTF is that all about? I like action out of my talk show hosts... Glenn Beck for example. Now that's entertainment.

Tonite Moyers is doing some lame show about how LBJ got sucked into the quagmire of Vietnam. Who needs to know about that?... How can that possibly relate to anything happening today?

Good riddance, I say.

Do I need to add ?

[YvonneCa]

5. No, but I'm really glad...

...you did. I love Bill Moyers.

[grasswire]

7. He makes me want to be a better person.

I guess that's his old pastoral training.

I will miss him deeply.

[LuvNewcastle]

10. That was a good show tonight.

Did you see the part where Bundy advised LBJ that we should go to a volunteer army and call Vietnam a war on terror? It was almost scary how prescient that comment was.

[No Elephants]

26. Not sure it was prescience. IMO, the PNAC-minded of both parties

had to have been working on abolishing the draft for the reason stated--less public opposition to US wars where our position was not as clearly on the side of the angels (or whomever) as it had been in WWII.

The actual vote abolishing the draft was in 1973, but I'd bet something that monumental, and that relevant to national security, had to have been in the works for years before 1973.

They were right about the result of an all volunteer military: less opposition/interest from the public. Which is why we can now be in two wars for 8 years now with barely a mention in the nightly national news, let alone frequent demonstrations across the nation.

Washington, D.C. does not want ordinary folk deciding when and why we go to war and when we finally turn off the light at he end of the tunnel. (That job "rightly" belongs to generals, not the general public. Trouble is, generals always seem to "vote" for sending more troops.)

Obama seems to be considering cutting into that (as to our continuing occupation of Afghanistan, anyway). If so, I wish him well. More than enough damage has been done by our invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and the adverse consequences will not end for generations.

[No Elephants]

30. Too late to edit, but I got curious and did some research.

From the wiki on conscription:


"During the 1968 presidential election, Richard Nixon campaigned on a promise to end the draft.<33> He had first become interested in the idea of an all-volunteer army during his time out of office, based upon a paper by Professor Martin Anderson of Columbia University.<34> There was opposition to the all-volunteer notion from both the Department of Defense and Congress, so Nixon took no immediate action towards ending the draft early in his presidency.<34>

Instead, the Gates Commission was formed, headed by Thomas S. Gates, Jr., a former Secretary of Defense in the Eisenhower administration.<34> Gates initially opposed the all-volunteer army idea, but changed his mind during the course of the 15-member commission's work.<34> The Gates Commission issued its report in February 1970, describing how adequate military strength could be maintained without having conscription.<33><36> The existing draft law was expiring at the end of June 1971, but the Department of Defense and Nixon administration decided the draft needed to continue for at least some time.<36> In February 1971, the administration requested of Congress a two-year extension of the draft, to June 1973.<37><38>

Senatorial opponents of the war wanted to reduce this to a one-year extension, or eliminate the draft altogether, or tie the draft renewal to a timetable for troop withdrawal from Vietnam;<39> Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska took the most forceful approach, trying to filibuster the draft renewal legislation, shut down conscription, and directly force an end to the war.<40> Senators supporting Nixon's war efforts supported the bill, even though some had qualms about ending the draft.<38> After a prolonged battle in the Senate, in September 1971 cloture was achieved over the filibuster and the draft renewal bill was approved.<41> Meanwhile, military pay was increased as an incentive to attract volunteers, and television advertising for the U.S. Army began.<33> With the end of active U.S. ground participation in Vietnam, December 1972 saw the last men conscripted, who reported for duty in June 1973.<33>In 1973, the Selective Service randomly selected 25 numbers or birthdays in case the draft was extended."



If Nixon was campaigning on ending the draft in 1968 as a means of ending public opposition to war, that issue was probably percolating for some years prior to that.

[xxqqqzme]

54. It was a bit of a

'sit up & take notice' jolt to see those words on the screen.

[No Elephants]

20. Not given your entire post. But, I was ready to do battle before I read past the subject line.

[Jefferson23]

38. LOL, this gets to the heart of it.

[Ian David]

6. Oprah did it first. n/t

[SoCalDem]

8. The sad thing is that for all the decades since LBJ, his voice has been missing

from the "mainstream media".. he was marginalized..set off to the side..as was Zinn & Chomsky & Turkel & Greenwald & Donahue. Dan Rather was on the air, but was hamstrung by his "owners"..


Anyone even remotely associated with liberal thought, was considered to be "too scary" to be included .. Of course Pat Buchanan has been in our faces forever..

[No Elephants]

25. And Joe Scarborough probably will be. He is trying to sell himself as, while

admittedly conservative, a fair and rational voice, a level of dishonesty to which even Pat Buchanan never seems to have aspired.

[Blue_Tires]

63. +1

[suede1]

9. One of the best shows on television. Wish he would stay.

[ginnyinWI]

11. I hope he at least writes a column or blog--

otherwise I will miss his wise commentary too much.

[napi21]

12. I realize he's getting older and a weekly show is a lot of work,

but I'm going to miss his show dearly! I don't get it here until Sunday, but I fervently watch it EVERY SUNDAY! I'm going to miss you very much Bill!

My favorites are all slowly going away.

[elleng]

13. I think he retired before Journal,

and was persuaded to return; we NEED HIM SO!!!

[tabatha]

14. He is 75 - that is late for retiring.

[stlsaxman]

34. i wish that was "too late to retire"- like there was a retirement window.

"Sorry Mr. Moyers- you had your opportunity- now you'll have be the best journalist to the end."

[tabatha]

42. I was thinking of his health.

[niyad]

15. oprah quitting is no big deal--but bill moyers IS-- we need him so.

[Triana]

16. One of the last great journalists - gone. Crap. Who's left? Is there anyone?

In other news, Oprah is leaving next year too. I don't consider that any great loss though. Pfft.

[stlsaxman]

36. Well when she's reduce to interviewing Sarah Palin for ratings it's time to get out.

[femrap]

49. Oprah did open the door to READING

great books to millions who would have never done so. I give her credit for that.

I was shocked to hear that the ratings for Palin were the highest she has received in years....since the Osmond Family Reunion. I guess Evangelical bible thumpers approve of Oprah.

I haven't watched Oprah in years. I thought she could have done more to make women feel good about themselves and not need 'makeovers.' But I guess those bible thumpers like makeovers and want to be eye candy.

[xxqqqzme]

56. Lost a lot of respect for Oprah

when she promoted steroid boy during the CA governor recall. Haven't watched her since then. And wrote & told her so.

[femrap]

64. I haven't watched her before that.

It's so sad...she could be a real force. I've said the same thing about Michael Jordan but he just sits there and counts his money that comes from Nike which exploits labor.

Same for Tiger Woods for that matter. His wife isn't allowed to play at the course in GA. But he could be bothered.

Greed conquers all. I'm so sick of it.

[Hekate]

17. His wisdom will be sorely missed. I first "noticed" him on the Joseph Campbell/Mythology series...

Moyers did an outstanding job with the great scholar. The series used to come up quite regularly during pledge drives at PBS, and it's well worth watching even with the annoying pledge breaks. (One year I finally gave PBS enough money that I got the series on DVD in return. )

We will not see his like again any time soon.

Hekate

[tabatha]

43. I have two of his books.

[Truth2Tell]

52. I agree his work with Joseph Campbell

is some of the best he ever did. Thast series and the books that followed really changed my perceptions of the world.

[Hekate]

57. It was life-changing for me. I now have a doctorate in Mythological Studies from...

... Pacifica Graduate Institute, which has Campbell's archives.

Hekate

[Lorien]

18. Moyers and Stewart are the only people worth watching anymore

one less reason to own a TV.

[EndElectoral]

19. Man, Bill's show is the most intelligent show on TV. What a void to fill

[No Elephants]

21. Weird. As I watched this weekend's show, I thought to myself What will we do

when Bill Moyers' Journal is no longer around?" Then I saw this news.

Bill Moyers' Journal was the major reason I/ve been donating to PBS in recent years. (I did not like what happened to PBS during the reigh of George.)

I hope to heaven some progressive takes over the show, or begins another one like the Journal.

NOW, with David Broncaccio (sp?) is still pretty good, but may not be enough to keep me donating.

[Norrin Radd]

22. Hopefully he doesn't stay a stranger.

[Enthusiast]

23. Maybe Bill Moyers can

be replaced with someone right of center, someone that better reflects the sentiments of the country.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

24. Wish him the best, but there goes the best thing on TV.

He's earned the right to take things a little slower and the rigors of doing the Journal were probably pretty taxing.

As far as informational programming goes, this will leave a huge (or is it hugh) void for someone to fill.

[Rupert Notmurdoch]

27. Allow me to suggest a replacement:

Phil Donahue. His show was the highest-rated on MSNBC when they pulled the plug on him for opposing the Iraq war!

[No Elephants]

32. Donahue is not the equivalent of Moyers in terms of government experience.

In my personal view, Donahue does not have the same intellectual heft of Moyers, either.

Donahue is liberal, but I don't think he could replace Moyers in terms of credibility, unless maybe the Journal team stays and Moyers, or someone as credible, serves as a consultant for the show. JMO.

[janet118]

35. I agree . . . Donahue is an entertainer . . .

Moyers is a teacher. I will miss his show and I will always be thankful that he came back to television when we really, really needed him.

[rasputin1952]

28. Bill Moyers has one of the best shows out there...

well rounded, intelligent and thought provoking. What a hole this will eave...

The screech monkeys have enough airtime to burn up, I will miss intelligent discourse with great minds...

[PatrynXX]

29. Hopefully he'll stalk Bill O more often till then

Bill O can't go crapping on a retiree can he?

Oh wait. Bill O Faux is an asshole. nevermind

[barbtries]

31. will really miss him

it's going to leave a void. i can't think of another on tv who shows his wisdom and compassion. we need more of him, not less. dang.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Faygo Kid]

37. What a compelling show last night, LBJ taking us into Vietnam.

I do see parallels. No doubt intended.

We will miss Bill Moyers.

[Kolesar]

60. With ya'

Bill Moyers is amazing. He always knows what needs to be heard.

[Jefferson23]

39. What a huge loss, this saddens me.

Thank you Bill Moyers for all your outstanding work!

[YvonneCa]

40. I'm actually happy for...

...him. He has DONE HIS JOB. He has been an illuminating voice during the dark days of the past administration...a voice for which I remain grateful. He deserves to rest.

I hope he enjoys a long and joyful retirement.

[Jefferson23]

44. I would feel that way if there were more like him but that is not the case.

[YvonneCa]

45. True. And that is a reason for...

...sadness.

[Doctor_J]

41. As soon as Comcast buys NBC and fires Rachel and Keith,

Big Media will be as ideologically pure as the German media was in the 1930's. The takeover will be complete.

[jwirr]

46. There goes PBS into the toilet. He was the best thing on evening

shows.

[femrap]

48. WTF am I supposed to do

on Friday night now? This is my favorite show. I enjoy 'Now' as well. Well, PBS will have to find a good investigative journalist to 'replace' him....which is impossible.

Such sad news. Shit.

[bvar22]

50. .....and then there were none.

.

[emmadoggy]

51. Damn.

[Dover]

53. It must be true what they're saying. The world WILL end by 2012!!!

A world without Moyers is no world at all.....

[xxqqqzme]

55. I've been wondering when

he would retire. When he moved away from Now, I feared he would be gone. I just never miss his show, if I can possibly avoid it, because it is not repeated on any PBS station after the initial Friday offering. He has been so good w/ exposing corporate control in our lives, so passionate about healthcare reform, dogging corporate control of all media.

We are all going to have to work much harder now because Bill Moyers will not be giving us the ground work.

[autorank]

58. k*r Damn! He deserves a break

His greatest recent gift was the William K Black Interviews.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/transcript1....

What a guy!

Thanks Truth2Tell

[Uncle Joe]

59. I will miss Bill Moyers, he's a good man and a great journalist.

Thanks for the thread, Truth2Tell.

[brolific]

61. One of the most credible and sincere guys on TV

and he speaks from real experience

he started his career in the white house, before most talking heads were even born

[philly_bob]

62. Best show on television. Worst time slot on television.

I always felt it was a sign of disrespect by PBS to give him the 9PM Friday night slot.