Bill Moyers Is Retiring His PBS “Journal”

by Joe Coscarelli | 4:09 pm, November 21st, 2009

» 5 comments

Bill.Moyers The Friday news dump and simultaneous Oprah/Palin eclipse (New Moon!) obscured one particularly dispiriting media announcement: Bill Moyers is retiring from weekly television and ending his PBS show Bill Moyers Journal, according to a report by the New York Times.

As with Oprah, the news comes well in advance of its actual implementation, as the last episode of the show will air April 30th, 2010, giving current affairs junkies plenty of time to nurse their addiction and avoid withdrawal symptoms. In the Times, Elizabeth Jensen reports that PBS requested Moyers stay through the Spring of next year in order to raise funds, which he agreed to do. It will also bring the show to its three year anniversary, having began in April 2007.

“I am 75 years old,” Moyers said. He seems to be telling the truth. The paper also included a statement from the network about its future plans:

“We’re all looking for places to continue that work.” PBS said in a statement that it was in the middle of a “review and reinvention” of its news and public affairs programming and would announce plans for its lineup in January.

Luckily, Bill Moyers Journal has a hell of an interactive and user-friendly website, and assuming you haven’t spent your last 100 Friday nights at home with public television, you have some catching up to do. Go learn something.

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Pat Doherty

I say good riddance to this smug, mendacious hypocrite. Maybe he’s retiring so he can devote time to finding out once and for all if Jack Valenti was gay.
ImNotBlue

Hmmm… the right-ish loses Lou Dobbs… and the left (and far left) lose Moyers. An interesting trade…
Jim R

Fearlessly speaking truth to power and reasoned debate will have lost a great champion when Bill retires, I’ll really miss him.

What passes for debate in the MSM occurs between those wholly owned by the rich and powerful interests and those pretending not to be.

Maybe they’ll give Amy Goodman a show.
Nachi

A bit much to construe Bill as “left.” Really. He’s been largely interesting over the years, and has oft spoken of subjects which are hard to come by otherwise. Thus he has had much that should/could be of mutual interest to say. Certainly I don’t always agree w him, but such is how we learn – dare we few with open minds try.
ImNotBlue

Nachi says:
November 22, 2009 at 7:00 pm

It’s always interesting to me how the “left” never seems to see anyone else on “the left.” I guess self awareness isn’t of Nachi’s qualities… but then again, we never thought it was.